Caroline Giroux1,2, Boris Roduit3, Javier Rodriguez-Falces4, Jacques Duchateau5, Nicola A Maffiuletti6, Nicolas Place7. 1. Laboratory ‛Bioingenierie, Tissus et Neuroplasticité' (EA 7377), Université Paris-Est Créteil, Créteil, France. 2. Laboratory Sport, Expertise and Performance (EA 7370), Research Department, French Institute of Sport (INSEP), Paris, France. 3. Institut des Sciences du Sport de l'Université de Lausanne, Quartier UNIL-Centre, Bâtiment Synathlon, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. 4. Department of Electrical and Electronical Engineering, Public University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. 5. Laboratory of Applied Biology and Neurophysiology, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgium. 6. Human Performance Lab, Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland. 7. Institut des Sciences du Sport de l'Université de Lausanne, Quartier UNIL-Centre, Bâtiment Synathlon, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. nicolas.place@unil.ch.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The present study aimed at comparing knee extensor neuromuscular properties determined with transcutaneous electrical stimulation using two pulse durations before and after a standardized fatigue protocol. METHODS: In the first sub-study, 19 healthy participants (ten women and nine men; 28 ± 5 years) took part to two separate testing sessions involving the characterization of voluntary activation (twitch interpolation technique), muscle contractility (evoked forces by single and paired stimuli), and neuromuscular propagation (M-wave amplitude from vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles) obtained at supramaximal intensity with a pulse duration of either 0.2 or 1 ms. The procedures were identical in the second sub-study (N = 11), except that neuromuscular properties were also evaluated after a standardized fatiguing exercise. Electrical stimulation was delivered through large surface electrodes positioned over the quadriceps muscle and a visual analog scale was used to evaluate the discomfort to paired stimuli evoked at rest. RESULTS: There was no difference between pulse durations in the estimates of voluntary activation, neuromuscular propagation, and muscle contractility both in the non-fatigued and fatigued states. The discomfort associated with supramaximal paired electrical stimuli was also comparable between the two pulse durations. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that 0.2- and 1-ms-long pulses provide a comparable evaluation of knee extensor neuromuscular properties.
PURPOSE: The present study aimed at comparing knee extensor neuromuscular properties determined with transcutaneous electrical stimulation using two pulse durations before and after a standardized fatigue protocol. METHODS: In the first sub-study, 19 healthy participants (ten women and nine men; 28 ± 5 years) took part to two separate testing sessions involving the characterization of voluntary activation (twitch interpolation technique), muscle contractility (evoked forces by single and paired stimuli), and neuromuscular propagation (M-wave amplitude from vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles) obtained at supramaximal intensity with a pulse duration of either 0.2 or 1 ms. The procedures were identical in the second sub-study (N = 11), except that neuromuscular properties were also evaluated after a standardized fatiguing exercise. Electrical stimulation was delivered through large surface electrodes positioned over the quadriceps muscle and a visual analog scale was used to evaluate the discomfort to paired stimuli evoked at rest. RESULTS: There was no difference between pulse durations in the estimates of voluntary activation, neuromuscular propagation, and muscle contractility both in the non-fatigued and fatigued states. The discomfort associated with supramaximal paired electrical stimuli was also comparable between the two pulse durations. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that 0.2- and 1-ms-long pulses provide a comparable evaluation of knee extensor neuromuscular properties.
Authors: Daria Neyroud; Stéphane Armand; Geraldo De Coulon; Nicola A Maffiuletti; Bengt Kayser; Nicolas Place Journal: Res Dev Disabil Date: 2017-01-05
Authors: Jonas Saugy; Nicolas Place; Guillaume Y Millet; Francis Degache; Federico Schena; Grégoire P Millet Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-06-26 Impact factor: 3.240