Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health and Welfare, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan.
J Sport Rehabil. 2023 Dec 28;33(2):121-127. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2023-0140. Print 2024 Feb 1.
Plantar intrinsic foot muscle strength training is difficult to master to a degree sufficient to elicit muscle hypertrophy in most individuals. It is possible that combining neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) and blood flow restriction (BFR) can elicit plantar intrinsic foot muscle hypertrophy regardless of the individual's technique. This study aimed to determine the effects of NMES training with BFR on acute muscle swelling in the abductor hallucis.
Randomized, controlled, single-blind trial design.
Forty-eight participants were randomly allocated to the NMES + BFR, NMES, or Sham NMES + BFR groups. All participants received abductor hallucis NMES for 15 minutes. Participants in the NMES + BFR and Sham NMES + BFR groups received NMES with BFR. The intensity of NMES was the sensory threshold in the Sham NMES + BFR group. The cross-sectional area of the abductor hallucis was measured pretraining and posttraining using ultrasonography by a single investigator blinded to the participants' allocations.
After 15 minutes of training, the cross-sectional area of the abductor hallucis was significantly increased in the NMES + BFR (P < .001) and the Sham NMES + BFR (P = .004) groups. Moreover, the rate of increase was significantly higher in the NMES + BFR group than in the NMES or the Sham NMES + BFR groups (P < .001 and P = .001, respectively).
Since it is possible that the amount of muscle swelling immediately after training correlates with muscle hypertrophy when training is continued, the results of this study suggest that NMES training with BFR is a training method that can be expected to produce plantar intrinsic foot muscle hypertrophy. Further studies are needed to confirm the long-term effects of NMES training with BFR.
足底内在足部肌肉力量训练很难掌握到足以引起大多数个体肌肉肥大的程度。联合神经肌肉电刺激（NMES）和血流限制（BFR）可能会引起足底内在足部肌肉肥大，而与个体的技术无关。本研究旨在确定 NMES 结合 BFR 训练对拇展肌急性肌肉肿胀的影响。
随机、对照、单盲试验设计。
48 名参与者被随机分配到 NMES + BFR、NMES 或假 NMES + BFR 组。所有参与者均接受拇展肌 NMES 治疗 15 分钟。NMES + BFR 和假 NMES + BFR 组的参与者接受 NMES 结合 BFR。NMES + BFR 组和假 NMES + BFR 组的 NMES 强度为假 NMES + BFR 组的感觉阈。使用超声由一名对参与者分配情况不知情的单一研究者在训练前和训练后测量拇展肌的横截面积。
在 15 分钟的训练后，NMES + BFR（P <.001）和假 NMES + BFR（P =.004）组的拇展肌横截面积显著增加。此外，NMES + BFR 组的增加率明显高于 NMES 组或假 NMES + BFR 组（P <.001 和 P =.001）。
由于训练后立即出现的肌肉肿胀量与持续训练时的肌肉肥大相关，因此本研究的结果表明，NMES 结合 BFR 训练是一种可以预期引起足底内在足部肌肉肥大的训练方法。需要进一步的研究来确认 NMES 结合 BFR 训练的长期效果。
