Improvement
in isometric strength of the quadriceps femoris
muscle after training with electrical stimulation.
Selkowitz DM.
The purpose of this investigation was to determine
if training isometrically with electrical stimulation
(ES) alone would significantly increase isometric
strength of the quadriceps femoris muscle. The
relationships between the strength changes and
the relative force and duration of training contractions
were also studied. An experimental group (Group
1) and a control group (Group 2), 12 subjects
in each, underwent pretesting and posttesting
to obtain their maximum voluntary isometric contractions
(MVICs). Group 1 trained with maximally tolerable
isometric contractions induced by ES, three days
a week for four weeks. Results showed that although
both groups demonstrated increases in isometric
strength of their quadriceps femoris muscles,
training isometrically with ES produced a significantly
greater increase (p less than .01) than not training
with ES. The relative strength improvement in
Group 1 was positively and significantly correlated
with training-contraction intensity and duration.
The relative increase in isometric strength, using
only ES, may be determined by the ability of the
subjects to tolerate longer and more forceful
contractions. Suggestions for further research
and implications for the clinical use of ES for
strength-training are discussed.
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