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Abstract
This study was designed to determine the effects of pulse frequency (20pps, 45pps,
80pps) on subjects' voltage tolerance, delayed muscle soreness, and muscle strength
gained following 6 weeks of electrical stimulation. Thirty healthy men (mean age =
22 years) were randomly assigned to three groups. Subjects in group 1 (n = 10), group 2 (n = 10), and group 3 (n = 10) had their right quadriceps femoris muscles electrically stimulated with a high-voltage
pulsed galvanic stimulator preset at pulse frequencies of 20pps, 45pps, and 80pps,
respectively. The left limb of each subject served as the control. For all the groups,
the duty cycle of the stimulator was set at 10 seconds on and 50 seconds off during
the stimulation. At each training session, the maximal tolerable voltage for each
subject was monitored. Ten maximum contractions was allowed at each training session.
Muscle soreness perception was evaluated 48 hours after stimulation using a 10-point
visual analog scale. Electrical stimulation was administered three times a week for
6 weeks. For each subject, the average voltage output and muscle soreness rating were
computed at the end of each week. With a cable tensiometer, the knee extension isometric
force of both limbs was evaluated before training and at the end of the second, fourth,
and sixth weeks of the study and 3 weeks after training. Repeated measure's analysis
of variance was used to determine significant differences in the dependent variables.
The results showed that the maximum voltage tolerance, muscle soreness ratings, and
muscle strength gained by the three groups are not significantly (p > .05) different. The right and left knee extension isometric force increased (p < .05) by 24% and 10%, respectively, at the end of the sixth week of training. The
gain in muscle strength was still sustained 3 weeks after training. The findings revealed
that the stimulator used in this study can improve the strength of normal innervated
muscles, but none of the three pulse frequencies selected offered any clinical advantage.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 21,
1992
Received:
August 12,
1992
Identification
Copyright
© 1993 Published by Elsevier Inc.
