Abstract
Fatigue is synonymous with a wide spectrum of familiar physiological conditions, from pathology and general health, to sport and physical exercise. Strenuous, prolonged exercise training causes fatigue. Although several studies have investigated the effects of electrical stimulation frequency on muscle fatigue, the effects of percutaneous pulse current stimulation on fatigue in the hepatic tissue of trained rats is still unclear. In order to find an effective strategy to prevent fatigue or enhance recovery, the effects of pulse current on endurance exercise and its anti-fatigue properties in exercised rats were studied. Rats were subjected to one, three or five weeks of swimming exercise training. After exercise training, rats in the treated group received daily applications of pulse current. All rats were sacrificed after one, three or five weeks of swimming exercise, and the major biochemical indexes were measured in serum and liver. The results demonstrate that pulse current could prolong the exhaustion swimming time, as well as decrease serum ALT, AST and LD levels and liver MDA content. It also elevated serum LDH activity, liver SOD activity and glycogen content. Furthermore, pulse current increased the expression of Bcl-2 and decreased the expression of Bax. Taken together, these results show that pulse current can elevate endurance capacity and facilitate recovery from fatigue.
Highlights
Regular physical exercise has many health benefits, including a reduced threat of all-cause mortality along with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes [1,2]
We constructed a rat swimming model to investigate the effects of pulse current on exercise-induced fatigue
The results demonstrate that pulse current prolonged the exhaustion swimming time, decreased serum ALT, AST, and LD levels and reduced the liver MDA content
Summary
Regular physical exercise has many health benefits, including a reduced threat of all-cause mortality along with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes [1,2]. Numerous mechanisms and contributory factors have been implicated in the development of fatigue over the years, and include, amongst others, exercise itself as it promotes the consumption and depletion of energy sources such as glycogen. Exercise causes the production and accumulation of metabolic products such as lactic acid and ammonia in the body. Recovery from exerciseinduced fatigue requires repairing the damage that has occurred in the body and prompting the elimination of the metabolic products that accumulated during exercise. Long-term accumulated fatigue can lead to chronic fatigue syndrome. As characterized by the most widely used case definition, chronic fatigue syndrome is disabling fatigue for six or more months with four out of eight core symptoms including: impaired memory or concentration, headaches, sore throat, lymph node pain, muscle pain, joint pain, unrefreshing sleep, and post-exertional malaise [5]
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