ReviewFrontiers in physiology2019
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation as a Potential Countermeasure for Skeletal Muscle Atrophy and Weakness During Human Spaceflight.
Review in Frontiers in physiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to ameliorate reductions in muscle quantity and function in hospitalised older adults: a systematic review towards acute sarcopenia treatment.Age and ageing · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of core stability exercises and Russian electrical stimulation on nonspecific low back pain: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- A Resistive Soft Robotic Exosuit for Dynamic Body Loading in Hypogravity.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Trial
- Electrical stimulation to regain lower extremity muscle perfusion and endurance in patients with post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2: A randomized controlled trial.Physiological reports · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Microgravity-induced changes in skeletal muscle and possible countermeasures: What we can learn from bed rest and human space studies.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- Nanotechnology-mediated strategies for skeletal muscle repair and regeneration: targeted intervention, functional remodeling, and translational challenges.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Review
- Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation to Combat Muscle Atrophy During Spaceflight: A Narrative Review of Mechanisms and Potential Applications.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Muscle atrophy following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A narrative review.Histology and histopathology · 2026Review
- Neuromuscular mechanisms for the fast decline in rate of force development with muscle disuse - a narrative review.The Journal of physiology · 2026Review
- Space Physiology and Technology: Adaptations, Countermeasures, and Opportunities for Wearable Systems.Cyborg and bionic systems (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- "Hybrid exercise training improves liver steatosis and inflammation in a randomized trial of sedentary, obese women with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease".BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Multidirectional effect of low-intensity neuromuscular electrical stimulation on gene expression and phenotype in thigh and calf muscles after one week of disuse.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Article
- Blood flow restriction training in microgravity: a review of multisystem physiological benefits and implementation challenges for long-duration space missions.NPJ microgravity · 2025Review
- Acute Sarcopenia: Mechanisms and Management.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Skeletal Muscle Electrical Stimulation Prevents Progression of Disuse Muscle Atrophy via Forkhead Box O Dynamics Mediated by Phosphorylated Protein Kinase B and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor gamma Coactivator-1alpha.Physiological research · 2024Article
- Enhanced Muscle Activation Using Robotic Assistance Within the Electromechanical Delay: Implications for Rehabilitation?IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society · 2024Article
- Methods to accelerate fracture healing - a narrative review from a clinical perspective.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Spaceflight Induces Strength Decline inCells · 2023Article
- Effects of Unilateral Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation with Illusionary Mirror Visual Feedback on the Contralateral Muscle: A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Human spaceflight is associated with a substantial loss of skeletal muscle mass and muscle strength. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) evokes involuntary muscle contractions, which have the potential to preserve or restore skeletal muscle mass and neuromuscular function during and/or post spaceflight. This assumption is largely based on evidence from terrestrial disuse/immobilization studies without the use of large exercise equipment that may not be available in spaceflight beyond the International Space Station. In this mini-review we provide an overview of the rationale and evidence for NMES based on the terrestrial state-of-the-art knowledge, compare this to that used in orbit, and in ground-based analogs in order to provide practical recommendations for implementation of NMES in future space missions. Emphasis will be placed on knee extensor and plantar flexor muscles known to be particularly susceptible to deconditioning in space missions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.