2021 Volume 28 Issue 1 Pages 37-43
The purpose of this study was to investigate the preventive effect of 30 minutes of microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation (MENS) on delayed onset muscle soreness of elbow flexors. A total of 28 healthy young adults were randomly allocated into MENS group (n=15) and control group (n=13). All participants performed repetitions of eccentric contraction, and participants in MENS group performed 30-minute MENS on the elbow flexor muscle immediately, and 24, 48, 72 hours after eccentric exercise. Muscle soreness, maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque, circumference, and elbow extension range of motion were measured before, immediately after, and 24, 48, 72 hours after eccentric exercise, and the changes over time were compared. Our results showed that maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque was higher, and the circumference was lower in MENS group rather than control group, but there were no significant differences between MENS group and control group for muscle soreness and ROM. The results of this study showed that 30 minutes of MENS can prevent muscle weakness and increase in circumference caused by ECC. On the other hand, it was suggested that 350 μA MENS for 30 minutes was not sufficient to prevent muscle soreness and ROM.
