Neuromuscular adaptations to wide-pulse high-frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation training.

PURPOSE: No studies have evaluated the potential benefits of wide-pulse high-frequency (WPHF) neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) despite it being an interesting alternative to conventional NMES. Hence, this study evaluated neuromuscular adaptations induced by 3 weeks of WPHF NMES.

METHODS: Ten young healthy individuals (training group) completed nine sessions of WPHF NMES training spread over 3 weeks, whereas seven individuals (control group) only performed the first and last sessions. Plantar flexor neuromuscular function (maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force, voluntary activation level, H reflex, V wave, contractile properties) was evaluated before the first and last training sessions. Each training session consisted of ten 20-s WPHF NMES contractions (pulse duration: 1 ms, stimulation frequency: 100 Hz) interspaced by 40 s of recovery and delivered at an intensity set to initially evoke ~ 5% of MVC force. The averaged mean evoked forces produced during the ten WPHF NMES-evoked contractions of a given session as well as the sum of the ten contractions force time integral (total FTI) were computed.

RESULTS: Total FTI (+ 118 ± 98%) and averaged mean evoked forces (+ 96 ± 91%) increased following the 3-week intervention (p < 0.05); no changes were observed in the control group. The intervention did not induce any change (p > 0.05) in parameters used to characterize plantar flexor neuromuscular function.

CONCLUSION: Three weeks of WPHF NMES increased electrically evoked forces but induced no other changes in plantar flexor neuromuscular properties. Before introducing WPHF NMES clinically, optimal training program characteristics (such as frequency, duration and intensity) remain to be identified.