Burkhardt Benazir, Chaudry Oliver, Kast Stephanie, von Stengel Simon, Kohl Matthias, Roemer Frank W, Engelke Klaus, Uder Michael, Kemmler Wolfgang
Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
Institute of Medical Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Front Physiol. 2025 Apr 15;16:1544332. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1544332. eCollection 2025.
Physical exercise favorably affects visceral adipose tissue (VAT), which is a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases. However, many people are unable or unwilling to conduct frequent and intensive exercise programs that have favorable effects on VAT. The present study aimed to determine the effect of time-efficient and joint-friendly whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) technology on VAT volume in overweight-to-obese adults with osteoarthritis of the knee.
In total, 46 women and 26 men (58.4 ± 7.0 years; BMI: 30.2 ± 4.2 kg/m) with femuro-tibial knee osteoarthritis were randomly allocated to WB-EMS (n = 36) with 1.5 × 20 min/week for 29 weeks or a usual care control group (CG: n = 36) with six sessions of physiotherapy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a non-contrast enhanced two-point Dixon gradient echo volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination determined the VAT from mid L2 to mid L3.
In summary, VAT volume increased non-significantly in the CG (p = 0.246) and decreased non-significantly in the WB-EMS group (p = 0.143). We failed to determine significant WB-EMS-induced effects, i.e., group differences for absolute changes in the VAT volume (p = 0.090). However, we observed gender differences with significantly higher effects in men than in women (p = 0.032).
We conclude that low volume, non-superimposed WB-EMS is not a perfect tool for decreasing VAT, particularly in overweight-to-obese women.
体育锻炼对内脏脂肪组织（VAT）有积极影响，而内脏脂肪组织是心脏代谢疾病的一个风险因素。然而，许多人无法或不愿意进行对内脏脂肪组织有积极作用的频繁且高强度的锻炼计划。本研究旨在确定省时且对关节友好的全身肌电刺激（WB-EMS）技术对患有膝关节骨关节炎的超重至肥胖成年人内脏脂肪组织体积的影响。
共有46名女性和26名男性（年龄58.4±7.0岁；体重指数：30.2±4.2kg/m）患有股骨-胫骨膝关节骨关节炎，他们被随机分配到WB-EMS组（n = 36），每周进行1.5×20分钟，共29周，或常规护理对照组（CG：n = 36），接受六次物理治疗。使用非对比增强两点狄克逊梯度回波容积内插屏气检查的磁共振成像（MRI）从L2中部至L3中部确定内脏脂肪组织。
总体而言，CG组内脏脂肪组织体积无显著增加（p = 0.246），WB-EMS组无显著减少（p = 0.143）。我们未能确定WB-EMS引起的显著效果，即内脏脂肪组织体积绝对变化的组间差异（p = 0.090）。然而，我们观察到性别差异，男性的效果显著高于女性（p = 0.032）。
我们得出结论，低强度、非叠加的WB-EMS不是减少内脏脂肪组织的理想工具，尤其是对超重至肥胖的女性。
