The Effect of Electrical Stimulation and lsokinetic Exercise on Muscular Power of the Quadriceps Femoris.

The purpose of this study was to compare the power and strength changes, of the quadriceps femoris muscle group, following 6 weeks of training. Twenty-seven moderately trained, female subjects were placed into three equated groups: electrical stimulation plus isokinetic exercise (ES + IE), isokinetic exercise (IE), and electrical stimulation (ES). A CybexQ I1 isokinetic dynamometer was used for testing the quadriceps ' power and strength output at the velocities of 0, 30, 100, and 180 O/ sec. The ES + IE and ES groups received faradic stimulation (progressive from 10- 20 mA) from a Multitone Multifaradic Unit (model F283, Multitone Electric Co., London, England). In addition, the ES + IE group performed isokinetic contractions concurrently with the faradic stimulation. Thigh circumference (TC) and time to peak tension (TPT) were also calculated during the pre-, mid-, and post-tests. Results indicated that a significant power increment was evident between the pre- and posttests and the pre- and mid-tests for the combined groups (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant power increases between the three separate groups at the four velocities. Significant power differences (P c 0.05) for the combined groups between the pre- and post-tests and the pre- and mid-tests at the isokinetic velocities of 30 and OO/sec were also identified. TPT and TC did not change significantly for any group over the 6-week training period. This study indicated that the combined effects of ES + IE, IE, and ES are potentially effective means of improving power and strength; however, data did not reveal one method of training as being significantly superior to another. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1986;8(5):260-268.