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Comparison of electrical nerve stimulation, electrical muscle stimulation and magnetic nerve stimulation to assess the neuromuscular function of the plantar flexor muscles

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Abstract

Introduction

As it might lead to less discomfort, magnetic nerve stimulation (MNS) is increasingly used as an alternative to electrical stimulation methods. Yet, MNS and electrical nerve stimulation (ENS) and electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) have not been formally compared for the evaluation of plantar flexor neuromuscular function.

Methods

We quantified plantar flexor neuromuscular function with ENS, EMS and MNS in 10 volunteers in fresh and fatigued muscles. Central alterations were assessed through changes in voluntary activation level (VAL) and peripheral function through changes in M-wave, twitch and doublet (PS100) amplitudes. Discomfort associated with 100-Hz paired stimuli delivered with each method was evaluated on a 10-cm visual analog scale.

Results

VAL, agonist and antagonist M-wave amplitudes and PS100 were similar between the different methods in both fresh and fatigued states. Potentiated peak twitch was lower in EMS compared to ENS, whereas no difference was found between ENS and MNS for any parameter. Discomfort associated with MNS (1.5 ± 1.4 cm) was significantly less compared to ENS (5.5 ± 1.9 cm) and EMS (4.2 ± 2.6 cm) (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

When PS100 is used to evaluate neuromuscular properties, MNS, EMS and ENS can be used interchangeably for plantar flexor neuromuscular function assessment as they provide similar evaluation of central and peripheral factors in unfatigued and fatigued states. Importantly, electrical current spread to antagonist muscles was similar between the three methods while discomfort from MNS was much less compared to ENS and EMS. MNS may be potentially employed to assess neuromuscular function of plantar flexor muscles in fragile populations.

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Abbreviations

EMG:

Electromyographic

EMS:

Electrical muscle stimulation

ENS:

Electrical nerve stimulation

GL:

Gastrocnemius lateralis

GM:

Gastrocnemius medialis

MNS:

Magnetic nerve stimulation

MVC:

Maximal voluntary contraction

PS10:

10-Hz paired stimuli

PS100:

100-Hz paired stimuli

Pt:

Peak twitch

SD:

Standard deviation

SE:

Standard error

SOL:

Soleus

TA:

Tibialis anterior

VAL:

Maximal voluntary activation level

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participants who took part in this study and Fabienne Crettaz von Roten for the helpful discussion on the statistical analyses. Daria Neyroud was supported by the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust and John Temesi was supported by a doctoral research grant from the Rhône-Alpes Region.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standard

The study protocol was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Geneva University Hospital ethics committee (protocol 11–287). Before participation, each subject gave written informed consent. This study complied with the laws of Switzerland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Quartier UNIL-Mouline, Building Geopolis, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland

    Daria Neyroud, Bengt Kayser & Nicolas Place

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Daria Neyroud, Bengt Kayser & Nicolas Place

  3. Institute of Movement Sciences and Sports Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Daria Neyroud & Bengt Kayser

  4. Université de Lyon, 42023, Saint-Etienne, France

    John Temesi & Guillaume Y. Millet

  5. Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    John Temesi & Guillaume Y. Millet

  6. HP2 Laboratory, Grenoble Alpes University and INSERM (U1042), Grenoble, France

    Samuel Verges

  7. Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland

    Nicola A. Maffiuletti

Authors
  1. Daria Neyroud
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  2. John Temesi
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  3. Guillaume Y. Millet
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  4. Samuel Verges
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  5. Nicola A. Maffiuletti
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  6. Bengt Kayser
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  7. Nicolas Place
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas Place.

Additional information

Communicated by Toshio Moritani.

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Neyroud, D., Temesi, J., Millet, G.Y. et al. Comparison of electrical nerve stimulation, electrical muscle stimulation and magnetic nerve stimulation to assess the neuromuscular function of the plantar flexor muscles. Eur J Appl Physiol 115, 1429–1439 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3124-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3124-x

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