Ann Rehabil Med.  2018 Apr;42(2):250-259. 10.5535/arm.2018.42.2.250.

Effects of Very High Stimulation Frequency and Wide-Pulse Duration on Stimulated Force and Fatigue of Quadriceps in Healthy Participants

• Rongsawad
• Ratanapinunchai J

• KMID: 2432195
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2018.42.2.250

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of very high stimulation frequency (150 and 200 Hz) with wide pulse duration versus 50 Hz with wide pulse duration on stimulated force and fatigue of quadriceps femoris in healthy participants.
METHODS
Thirty-four healthy participants underwent fatigue test using three stimulation frequency conditions (50, 150, and 200 Hz) with pulse duration of 0.9 ms. Normalized force values at the end of each fatigue protocol and curve fitting patterns were compared among stimulated frequencies.
RESULTS
Very high stimulation frequency (150 and 200 Hz) conditions showed a trend of having more decline in normalized stimulated force during fatigue test compared to a low stimulation frequency at 50 Hz. However, the difference was not statistically significant. Responder group showed the same slope of a linear fitting pattern, implying the same pattern of muscle fatigue among three stimulation frequency conditions (−3.32 in 50 Hz, −2.88 in 150 Hz, and −3.14 in 200 Hz, respectively).
CONCLUSION
There were high inter-subject variations in the response to different frequency stimulation conditions. However, very high stimulation frequency generated the same fatigue pattern as the low stimulation frequency in the responder group. Further research is needed to explore the mechanism involved.

Keyword

Electrical stimulation; Muscle fatigue; Quadriceps muscle; Muscle contraction

MeSH Terms

Electric Stimulation
Fatigue*
Healthy Volunteers*
Muscle Contraction
Muscle Fatigue
Quadriceps Muscle

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Visual analog scale (VAS) score of discomfort level during fatigue test at each frequency condition. Data are presented as mean. Error bars represent standard deviation.

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  Fig. 2 Curve fitting pattern of normalized stimulated force values obtained during a 15-minute fatigue test under all stimulation conditions. Data are presented as mean. Error bars represent standard error of mean.

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  Fig. 3 Curve fitting pattern of normalized stimulated force values obtained during a 15-minute fatigue test under all stimulation conditions. (A) Non-responder group. (B) Responder group. Data are presented as mean. Error bars represent standard error of mean.

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