Buse Ozcan Kahraman1, Sema Savci2, Ismail Ozsoy3, Agah Baran4, Serap Acar2, Ebru Ozpelit5, Ali Balci4, Can Sevinc6, Bahri Akdeniz5. 1. School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. Electronic address: buse.ozcan@deu.edu.tr. 2. School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. 3. School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Kırsehir Ahi Evran University, Kirsehir, Turkey. 4. Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. 5. Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. 6. Department of Chest Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) present impairments in muscle strength and exercise capacity. There is growing evidence about the benefits of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in patients with respiratory diseases, except in patients with PAH. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of NMES on muscle strength, and other physical and psychosocial variables in patients with PAH. METHODS:Patients with PAH were randomly divided into two groups as NMES and control. The NMES was applied to the bilateral deltoid and quadriceps femoris muscles with 50 Hz for 3 days/week, 8 weeks for the NMES group. Muscle strength, muscle cross-sectional area and thickness, arterial stiffness, exercise capacity, functional mobility and balance, balance confidence, fatigue, physical activity, and quality of life were assessed at baseline and after 8 weeks by blinded assessors. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the demographic and clinical characteristics between the patient groups (p > 0.05). The improvements in muscle strength, muscle cross-sectional area and thickness, pulse wave velocity, exercise capacity, functional mobility and balance, balance confidence, fatigue, physical activity, and quality of life were significantly higher in the NMES group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that NMES intervention is safe and effective for patients with PAH.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND:Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) present impairments in muscle strength and exercise capacity. There is growing evidence about the benefits of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in patients with respiratory diseases, except in patients with PAH. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of NMES on muscle strength, and other physical and psychosocial variables in patients with PAH. METHODS:Patients with PAH were randomly divided into two groups as NMES and control. The NMES was applied to the bilateral deltoid and quadriceps femoris muscles with 50 Hz for 3 days/week, 8 weeks for the NMES group. Muscle strength, muscle cross-sectional area and thickness, arterial stiffness, exercise capacity, functional mobility and balance, balance confidence, fatigue, physical activity, and quality of life were assessed at baseline and after 8 weeks by blinded assessors. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the demographic and clinical characteristics between the patient groups (p > 0.05). The improvements in muscle strength, muscle cross-sectional area and thickness, pulse wave velocity, exercise capacity, functional mobility and balance, balance confidence, fatigue, physical activity, and quality of life were significantly higher in the NMES group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that NMES intervention is safe and effective for patients with PAH.