ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2019
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation improves fatigue performance of the treated and contralateral knee extensors.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characterising the Features of 381 Clinical Studies Evaluating Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for Pain Relief: A Secondary Analysis of the Meta-TENS Study to Improve Future Research.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Non-local Muscle Fatigue Effects on Muscle Strength, Power, and Endurance in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on fatigue recovery in recreational rowers.PeerJ · 2025Trial
- The role of stretching protocols in post-fatigue performance and flexibility among soccer players.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- No Ergogenic Effect of Caffeine or Sodium Bicarbonate on Resistance Exercise Performance: A Double-Blind Crossover Study with Sex-Based Analysis.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A knowledge-based equation of daily work exposure.PloS one · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) can reduce acute and chronic pain. Unilateral fatigue can produce discomfort in the affected limb and force and activation deficits in contralateral non-exercised muscles. TENS-induced local pain analgesia effects on non-local fatigue performance are unknown. Hence, the aim of the study was to determine if TENS-induced pain suppression would augment force output during a fatiguing protocol in the treated and contralateral muscles.
methodsThree experiments were integrated for this article. Following pre-tests, each experiment involved 20 min of TENS, sham, or a control condition on the dominant quadriceps. Then either the TENS-treated quadriceps (TENS_Treated) or the contralateral quadriceps (TENS_Contra) was tested. In a third experiment, the TENS and sham conditions involved two\; 100-s isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) (30-s recovery) followed by testing of the contralateral quadriceps (TENS_Contra-Fatigue). Testing involved single knee extensors (KE) MVCs (pre- and post-test) and a post-test 30% MVC to task failure.
resultsThe TENS-treated study induced greater (p = 0.03; 11.0%) time to KE (treated leg) failure versus control. The TENS_Contra-Fatigue induced significant (p = 0.04; 11.7%) and near-significant (p = 0.1; 7.1%) greater time to contralateral KE failure versus sham and control, respectively. There was a 14.5% (p = 0.02) higher fatigue index with the TENS (36.2 ± 10.1%) versus sham (31.6 ± 10.6%) conditions in the second fatigue intervention set (treated leg). There was no significant post-fatigue KE fatigue interaction with the TENS_Contra.
conclusionsUnilateral TENS application to the dominant KE prolonged time to failure in the treated and contralateral KE suggesting a global pain modulatory response.
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Registered trials
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