Rafael Martín Acero

How repeatable are the physiological effects of TENS

OBJECTIVE Several studies suggest that transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) can have a variety of effects on the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we tried to replicate the physiological effects of TENS and to explore its effects on intracortical circuits. METHODS We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and spinal reflex testing to examine excitability of intracortical and spinal cord circuits before and after a 30-min period of TENS over the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) muscle. We measured the amplitude of TMS-evoked muscle responses (MEP), short interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF) and cortical antagonist inhibition (CAI) in flexor and extensor carpial radialis (FCR, ECR) muscles as well as spinal reciprocal inhibition (RI) and presynaptic inhibition (PI) from ECR to FCR. RESULTS TENS had no significant effect on any of these measures apart from a reduction in median nerve induced facilitation of FCR when testing CAI. CONCLUSIONS When compared with previous studies, our results suggest that the effects of TENS are highly variable and unreliable, likely by the difficulty in defining precise parameters of stimulation in individual subjects. SIGNIFICANCE Care should be taken in assuming that effects after TENS observed in small populations of subjects will apply equally to a wider population.

Startle auditory stimuli enhance the performance of fast dynamic contractions.

Fast reaction times and the ability to develop a high rate of force development (RFD) are crucial for sports performance. However, little is known regarding the relationship between these parameters. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of auditory stimuli of different intensities on the performance of a concentric bench-press exercise. Concentric bench-presses were performed by thirteen trained subjects in response to three different conditions: a visual stimulus (VS); a visual stimulus accompanied by a non-startle auditory stimulus (AS); and a visual stimulus accompanied by a startle auditory stimulus (SS). Peak RFD, peak velocity, onset movement, movement duration and electromyography from pectoralis and tricep muscles were recorded. The SS condition induced an increase in the RFD and peak velocity and a reduction in the movement onset and duration, in comparison with the VS and AS condition. The onset activation of the pectoralis and tricep muscles was shorter for the SS than for the VS and AS conditions. These findings point out to specific enhancement effects of loud auditory stimulation on the rate of force development. This is of relevance since startle stimuli could be used to explore neural adaptations to resistance training.

Low-Intensity Cycling Affects the Muscle Activation Pattern of Consequent Countermovement Jumps

Marquez, GJ, Mon, J, Acero, RM, Sanchez, JA, and Fernandez-del-Olmo, M. Low-intensity cycling affects the muscle activation pattern of consequent countermovement jumps. J Strength Cond Res 23(5): 1470-1476, 2009-Players (eg, basketball, soccer, and football) often use a static bicycle during a game to maintain warming. However, the effectiveness of this procedure has not been addressed in the literature. Thus, it remains unknown whether low-intensity cycling movement can affect explosive movement performance. In this study, 10 male subjects performed countermovement jumps before and after a 15-minutes cycling bout at 35% of their maximal power output. Three sessions were tested for 3 different cadences of cycling: freely chosen cadence, 20% lower than freely chosen cadence (FCC−20%), and 20% higher than freely chosen cadence (FCC+20%). Jump height, kinematics, and electromyogram were recorded simultaneously during the countermovement jumps. The results showed a significant decreasing in the height of countermovement jump after cycling at freely chosen cadence and FCC−20% (p = 0.03 and p = 0.04, respectively), but not for FCC+20% cadences. The electromyographic parameters suggest that changes in the countermovement jump after cycling can be attributed to alteration of the pattern of activation and may be modulated by the preceding cycling cadence. Our study indicates that to avoid a possible negative effect of the cycling in the subsequent explosive movements, a cadence 20% higher than the preferred cadence must be used.