Low-Intensity Electrical Stimulation to Improve the Neurological Aspect of Weakness in Individuals with Chronic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Lesion

• Published in: BioMed research international Vol. 2020; no. 2020; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Chuang, Li-Ling, Hsu, Yu-Ting, Huang, Yi-Ming, Hsu, Miao-Ju, Tang, Wen-Tzu, Chang, Ya-Ju
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2020; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Activation; Adult; Anterior cruciate ligament; Anterior Cruciate Ligament - physiology; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries - radiotherapy; Athletes; Cerebral cortex; Electric Stimulation - methods; Electrical stimuli; Electrodes; Electromyography; Evoked Potentials, Motor - physiology; Female; Humans; Leg; Legs; Lesions; Ligaments; Magnetic fields; Male; Motor Cortex - physiology; Motor Cortex - radiation effects; Motor evoked potentials; Quadriceps muscle; Quadriceps Muscle - radiation effects; Sports injuries; Studies; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - methods; Young Adult; Taiwan; United States > US
• ISSN: 2314-6133; 2314-6141; 2314-6141
• DOI: 10.1155/2020/7436274

Purpose. This study is aimed at investigating the effect of low-intensity electrical stimulation on the voluntary activation level (VA) and the cortical facilitation/inhibition of quadriceps in people with chronic anterior cruciate ligament lesion. Methods. Twenty former athletes with unilateral ACL deficiencies (ACL group) and 20 healthy subjects (healthy control group) participated in the study. The quadriceps VA level, motor-evoked potential (MEP), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and intracortical facilitation (ICF) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation were tested before and after 30 minutes of low-intensity electrical stimulation (ES). Results. Before ES, the quadriceps VA in the ACL lesion legs of the ACL group was lower compared to the legs of the healthy control group (P<0.05). The MEP sizes in the ACL lesion legs and the healthy control were not significantly different. The ACL lesion legs showed lower SICI and higher ICF compared to the healthy control group (P<0.05). After ES, the quadriceps VA level increased and the SICI-ICF was modulated only in the ACL lesion legs (P<0.05) but not in the healthy controls. Conclusions. Low-intensity ES can normalize the modulation of intracortical inhibition and facilitation, thereby ameliorating the activation failure in individuals with ACL lesion.