Trial reportJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2021
Four weeks of electromyostimulation improves muscle function and strength in sarcopenic patients: a three-arm parallel randomized trial.
Trial report in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Therapeutic Potential of Electromyostimulation (EMS) in Critically Ill Patients-A Systematic Review.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Effects of whole-body electromyostimulation training on upper limb muscles strength and body composition in moderately trained males: A randomized controlled study.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Four weeks of electromyostimulation improves muscle function and strength in sarcopenic patients: a three-arm parallel randomized trial.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2021Trial
- Short-term WB-EMS in Cancer Patients: Positive Effects After 2 Weeks of Exercise-A Single-arm Trial.Integrative cancer therapiesTrial
- Modulation of satellite cell function to alleviate age-related sarcopenia: Electrical stimulation & Ca²⁺ signaling combined approach.iScience · 2026Review
- Advances in electrical stimulation-based therapeutic technologies for sarcopenia prevention and treatment.Bioactive materials · 2026Review
- Feasibility and tolerability of electrical muscle stimulation during rehabilitation in older adults with osteoporotic vertebral fractures.Osteoporosis and sarcopenia · 2025Article
- Sarcopenia and mortality in Indigenous and non-Indigenous New Zealand octogenarians-the LiLACS NZ cohort study.European geriatric medicine · 2025Article
- Pilot Study to Assess the Ability of a 4-Week, Home-Based, Electrical Muscle Stimulation Program to Improve Lower Extremity Function and Reduce Sarcopenia in Older Individuals With Cancer.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2025Article
- Comparative Efficiency of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation and Resistance Training in Enhancing 1-Repetition Maximum.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Sarcopenia prevention in older adults: Effectiveness and limitations of non-pharmacological interventions.Osteoporosis and sarcopenia · 2025Review
- Article
- Exercise and nutrition benefit skeletal muscle: From influence factor and intervention strategy to molecular mechanism.Sports medicine and health science · 2024Review
- Living Lab Data of Patient Needs and Expectations for eHealth-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in Germany and Spain From the TIMELY Study: Cross-Sectional Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Observational
- Non-Athletic Cohorts Enrolled in Longitudinal Whole-Body Electromyostimulation Trials-An Evidence Map.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- The Effect of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation Program on Physical Performance and Selected Cardiometabolic Markers in Obese Young Females.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Article
- Case report of belt electrode-skeletal muscle electrical stimulation for acute heart failure with severe obesity: a novel therapeutic option for acute phase rehabilitation.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Article
- Inter-individual differences in muscle damage following a single bout of high-intense whole-body electromyostimulation.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSarcopenia, defined as loss of muscle mass, quality, and function, is associated with reduced quality of life and adverse health outcomes including disability and mortality. Electromyostimulation (EMS) has been suggested to attenuate the loss of muscle mass and function in elderly, sedentary individuals. This study aimed to investigate the effects of EMS on muscle strength and function during 4 weeks of inpatient medical rehabilitation.
methodsPatients receiving 4 weeks of inpatient medical rehabilitation diagnosed with sarcopenia using bioimpedance analysis were eligible to participate. One hundred and thirty-four patients (55.7 ± 7.9 years, 25.4% female) were randomly assigned to three groups: whole-body (WB) EMS (n = 48): stimulation of major muscle groups (pectoral muscles, latissimus, trapezius, abdominals, upper arm and leg, lower back muscles, gluteal muscles, and thighs); part-body (PB) EMS (n = 42): stimulation of leg muscles including gluteal muscles and thighs; and control group (CG, n = 44). All participants performed six 20 min training sessions including dynamic movements (squats, lunges, biceps curl, chest press, butterfly reverse, reverse lunges, standing diagonal crunches, etc.) with superimposed (WB-, PB-) EMS or without EMS (CG) in addition to the standard rehabilitation programme. Primary outcome variables included muscle function assessed by chair rise test and 6 min walking test as well as muscle strength (isometric grip strength, leg, arm, and back extension).
resultsPrimary outcome variables chair rise test and leg extension improved significantly (P = 0.001, η
conclusionsWe conclude that EMS might be an additional training option to improve muscle function and strength in sarcopenic patients during a 4 week rehabilitation programme. EMS provides greater functional and strength improvements compared with standard treatment with additional potential health benefits for sarcopenic cardiac and orthopaedic patients.
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