School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Insight Centre for Data Analytics, O'Brien Centre for Science, University College Dublin, Belfield Campus, Dublin, Ireland.
Support Care Cancer. 2019 Oct;27(10):3823-3831. doi: 10.1007/s00520-019-04679-3. Epub 2019 Feb 8.
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may be a pragmatic short-term alternative to voluntary exercise to augment cancer rehabilitation. However, previous attempts to use NMES as an exercise modality in this cohort have been unsuccessful, largely due to the use of NMES protocols that were developed for other rehabilitation contexts. We assessed the effects of a personalised and progressive NMES exercise intervention, designed with early-stage cancer rehabilitation in mind, on exercise capacity, lower body functional strength and quality of life in (QoL) in patients who are currently undergoing or have recently completed treatment for cancer.
Ten adult patients were recruited. A personalised and progressive NMES exercise intervention was implemented in each case over a 4-8-week period. The 30-s sit-to-stand test (STS), 6-min walk test (6MWT) and EORTC QLQ C-30 were performed pre- and post-intervention. Patients completed semi-structured interviews post-intervention to explore their experiences and views on the intervention and its impact on their daily lives.
Six of the 10 recruited patients completed the intervention and completed pre-and post-assessments. Four of 6 patients improved STS, 5 of 6 patients improved 6MWT and 4 of 6 patients improved Global QoL. Perceived benefits included improved muscle strength and more confidence when walking.
A personalised and progressive NMES exercise intervention appears safe and may improve functional capacity and QoL in adults who are undergoing or have recently completed treatment for cancer. Replication of these results in a controlled prospective study is warranted prior to clinical implementation.
神经肌肉电刺激（NMES）可能是一种实用的短期替代方案，可用于增强癌症康复中的自愿运动。然而，以前在该队列中尝试将 NMES 作为运动方式的尝试都没有成功，主要是因为使用了为其他康复环境开发的 NMES 方案。我们评估了一种个性化和渐进式 NMES 运动干预的效果，该干预方案旨在考虑早期癌症康复，对正在接受或最近完成癌症治疗的患者的运动能力、下肢功能力量和生活质量（QoL）的影响。
招募了 10 名成年患者。在每个患者中，在 4-8 周的时间内实施了个性化和渐进式 NMES 运动干预。在干预前后分别进行了 30 秒坐站测试（STS）、6 分钟步行测试（6MWT）和 EORTC QLQ C-30 测试。患者在干预后完成半结构化访谈，以探讨他们对干预措施的体验和看法，以及其对日常生活的影响。
10 名招募的患者中有 6 名完成了干预并完成了预评估和后评估。6 名患者中有 4 名 STS 得到改善，6 名患者中有 5 名 6MWT 得到改善，6 名患者中有 4 名全球 QoL 得到改善。患者感知到的益处包括肌肉力量增强和行走时更有信心。
个性化和渐进式 NMES 运动干预似乎是安全的，可改善正在接受或最近完成癌症治疗的成年人的功能能力和生活质量。在临床实施之前，需要在对照前瞻性研究中复制这些结果。
