Muscle Metabolism During Multiple Muscle Stimulation Using an Affordable Equipment

Background/Objectives: Previous studies have shown that neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), while expensive, can provide some of the health benefits of exercise to people who cannot exercise their legs normally. The aim of this study was to quantify the increases in muscle metabolism in four muscles of the legs of able-bodied individuals with NMES. Methods: Healthy college-aged students were tested. NMES of four muscle groups was performed with inexpensive stimulators and reusable tin foil electrodes. The biceps femoris, vastus lateralis, medial gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior muscles on one leg were stimulated for ten minutes with twitch stimulations at the highest comfortable stimulation current. Muscle metabolism was measured using the slope of oxygen consumption measured with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during 5 s of cuff ischemia. Results: Initial studies found fold increases in muscle metabolism above rest of 8.9 ± 8.6 for the vastus lateralis, 7.9 ± 11.9 for the biceps femoris, 6.6 ± 7.8 for the medial gastrocnemius, and 4.9 ± 3.9 for the tibialis anterior. Some participants were able to obtain large increases in muscle metabolism, while other participants had lower increases. Conclusions: The ability to produce large increases in metabolism has the potential to allow NMES to replace or augment exercise to improve health in people who cannot otherwise exercise. The devices used were inexpensive and could be adapted for easy use by a wide range of individuals.