System Maintenance Notice

Please note that maintenance work is scheduled between 4 AM and 5 AM - CET. During this time, you may experience reduced performance. Thanks for your patience.

Publications

Randomized Controlled Trial Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Ppublish 10 citations

PubMed: 36905161 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.15636

Electrical stimulation to regain lower extremity muscle perfusion and endurance in patients with post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2: A randomized controlled trial.

Physiol Rep 11(5):e15636

Authors: Alejandro Zulbaran-Rojas, Myeounggon Lee, Rasha O Bara, Areli Flores-Camargo, Gil Spitz, M G Finco, Amir Behzad Bagheri, Dipaben Modi, Fidaa Shaib, Bijan Najafi

Affiliations

  • Interdisciplinary Consortium on Advanced Motion Performance (iCAMP), Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
  • Baylor St Luke's Medical Center, Exercise Physiology, Liver Transplant Program, Houston, Texas, USA.
  • Department of Pulmonary Critical Care, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.

Abstract

Muscle deconditioning and impaired vascular function in the lower extremities (LE) are among the long-term symptoms experienced by COVID-19 patients with a history of severe illness. These symptoms are part of the post-acute sequelae of Sars-CoV-2 (PASC) and currently lack evidence-based treatment. To investigate the efficacy of lower extremity electrical stimulation (E-Stim) in addressing PASC-related muscle deconditioning, we conducted a double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Eighteen (n = 18) patients with LE muscle deconditioning were randomly assigned to either the intervention (IG) or the control (CG) group, resulting in 36 LE being assessed. Both groups received daily 1 h E-Stim on both gastrocnemius muscles for 4 weeks, with the device functional in the IG and nonfunctional in the CG. Changes in plantar oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb) and gastrocnemius muscle endurance (GNMe) in response to 4 weeks of daily 1 h E-Stim were assessed. At each study visit, outcomes were measured at onset (t ), 60 min (t ), and 10 min after E-Stim therapy (t ) by recording ΔOxyHb with near-infrared spectroscopy. ΔGNMe was measured with surface electromyography at two time intervals: 0-5 min (Intv ) and: 55-60 min (Intv ). Baseline OxyHb decreased in both groups at t (IG: p = 0.046; CG: p = 0.026) and t (IG = p = 0.021; CG: p = 0.060) from t . At 4 weeks, the IG's OxyHb increased from t to t (p < 0.001), while the CG's decreased (p = 0.003). The IG had higher ΔOxyHb values than the CG at t (p = 0.004). Baseline GNMe did not increase in either group from Intv to Intv . At 4 weeks, the IG's GNMe increased (p = 0.031), whereas the CG did not change. There was a significant association between ΔOxyHb and ΔGNMe (r = 0.628, p = 0.003) at 4 weeks in the IG. In conclusion, E-Stim can improve muscle perfusion and muscle endurance in individuals with PASC experiencing LE muscle deconditioning.

MeSH

Physiological Phenomena, Therapeutics, Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared, Muscles, Sars Virus, Covid-19, Sars-Cov-2

Cited by