Acute effects of low-intensity one-legged electrical muscle stimulation on arterial stiffness in experimental and control limbs

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of low-intensity one-legged electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) for skeletal muscle on arterial stiffness in EMS and non-EMS legs. Eighteen healthy subjects received two different protocols (Control (CT) and Experimental (ET) trials) in random order on separate days. EMS was applied to the left lower limb at 4 Hz for 20 min at an intensity corresponding to an elevation in pulse rate of approximately 15 beats/min (10.9 ± 5.1% of heart rate reserve). Before and after the experiment, arterial stiffness parameters in the control right leg (CRL) and control left leg (CLL) in CT and non-EMS leg (NEL) and EMS leg (EL) in ET were assessed by pulse wave velocity (baPWV, faPWV) and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). No significant changes in all parameters were observed in either leg in CT. Conversely, in ET, low-intensity, single-leg EMS significantly reduced CAVI, baPWV, and faPWV in the EL, but not in the NEL. Acute, low-intensity single-leg EMS reduces arterial stiffness only in the EL. These data support our idea that physical movement-related regional factors rather than systematic factors are important for inducing acute reductions in arterial stiffness.