Effects of single session transcranial direct current stimulation on aerobic performance and one arm pull-down explosive force of professional rock climbers

• Published in: Frontiers in physiology Vol. 14; p. 1153900
• Main Authors: Luo, Jia, Fang, Caihua, Huang, Sen, Wu, Jinlong, Liu, Bowen, Yu, Jingxuan, Xiao, Wen, Ren, Zhanbing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 06.04.2023
• Subjects: aerobic performance; athletes; explosive force; Physiology; rock climbing; sports performance; transcranial direct current stimulation; aerobic performance; explosive force; rock climbing; athletes; sports performance; transcranial direct current stimulation
• ISSN: 1664-042X; 1664-042X
• DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1153900

To explore the effects of single-session transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on aerobic performance and explosive force in the one-arm pull-down of long-term trained rock climbers. Twenty athletes (twelve male and eight female) from the Rock Climbing Team of Hunan province (Hunan, China) were selected for a randomized double-blind crossover study. After baseline tests, All subjects visited laboratories twice to randomly receive either sham or a-tDCS at a current intensity of 2 mA for 20 min. The two visits were more than 72 h apart. Immediately after each stimulation, subjects completed a 9-min 3-level-load aerobic test and a one-arm pull-down test. Differences in the heart rate immediately after 9-min incremental aerobic exercises revealed no statistical significance between each group ( > 0.05). However, the decrease in heart rate per unit time after exercise after real stimulation was significantly better than before stimulation ( < 0.05), and no statistical significance was observed between after sham stimulation and before stimulation ( > 0.05). One-arm pull-down explosive force on both sides after real stimulation was improved by a-tDCS compared with before stimulation, but with no significant difference ( > 0.05). Real stimulation was significantly improved, compared with sham stimulation on the right side ( < 0.05). Single-session tDCS could potentially benefit sports performance in professional athletes.