Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33217822›Full record

Trial reportMedicine2020

Efficacy of belt electrode skeletal muscle electrical stimulation on muscle flexibility of lower limbs: A randomized controlled pilot trial.

Kouki Tomida, Hajime Nakae

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Kouki TomidaDepartment of Physical Therapy, Akita Rehabilitation College, 1-4-80, Barajima.ORCID 0000-0002-7397-8224
Hajime NakaeDepartment of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Akita University 1-1-1 Hondo Akita, Japan.
Akita University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMuscular contracture may be caused by immobility-induced muscle atrophy and skeletal muscle hypoxia. Belt electrode skeletal muscle electrical stimulation (B-SES) is a new type of neuromuscular electrical stimulation that can simultaneously contract the lower limb muscle groups, in contrast to the conventional pad-type electrodes. B-SES can suppress muscular atrophy and relieve hypoxia of the skeletal muscle and is considered an appropriate strategy for preventing muscular contracture. However, the effect of B-SES on muscle flexibility has not been verified. This study aimed to compare the immediate effects of B-SES on skeletal muscle flexibility using different stimulation modes before the clinical study.

methodsWe conducted a randomized controlled pilot trial with cross-over analysis of 10 healthy subjects. The participants were subjected to three stimulus conditions (Disuse B-SES, Metabolic B-SES, and Control) with a minimal interval of 1 day between interventions, and the lower limb flexibility before and after the B-SES intervention was evaluated. Lower extremity flexibility was evaluated based on the hamstring muscle stiffness and sit-and-reach distance. For each endpoint, within-group comparisons were performed before and after the intervention and were compared between the groups using paired t-tests. Changes in each endpoint before and after the intervention were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance and the Bonferroni method. The significance level was 0.05.

resultsTen healthy individuals participated in all three interventions with a washout period between each intervention. In the Metabolic B-SES group, the sit-and-reach distance after the intervention was significantly higher than that before the intervention (P < 0.05). A comparison of the change in the sit-and-reach distance among the three groups before subsequent tests showed that the Metabolic B-SES group had a significantly increased sit-and-reach distance compared with the control group (P < 0.05).

conclusionMetabolic B-SES was effective for the immediate improvement of flexibility of the lower limb muscles. Therefore, Metabolic B-SES may be useful as a strategy for preventing muscular contracture.

Indexed as

Cross-Over StudiesElectric StimulationElectrodesFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansLower ExtremityMaleMuscle, SkeletalPilot ProjectsRange of Motion, ArticularYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID33217822
PMCPMC7676588
OpenAlexW3105166799

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.