The Effect of Frequency of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on Maximum Multi-finger Force Production

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) treatment on maximum voluntary force (MVF) production. Methods: Ten healthy, young subjects (5 males and 5 females) participated in the study. MVF was recorded after a fifteen minute session of TENS stimulation under two conditions: low frequency (4 Hz) at maximum tolerable level and high frequency (110 Hz) at maximum tolerable level. TENS was provided simultaneously via self-adhesive electrodes placed on the finger pads of the index, middle, ring and little fingers. MVF was also recorded in a baseline condition with no TENS treatment. Data were collected in three different sessions on three consecutive days at the sametime of the day. Results: Results from the study show that on an average, MVF increasesby 25% for the index, middle and little fingers for TENS treatment with 4 Hz frequency as compared to the baseline condition. However, the 110 Hz condition did not result in a significantly different MVF than the baseline condition during individual finger pressing tasks. In addition, while producing MVF with all the four finger stogether, MVF was 30% higher for the 4 Hz conditionin comparison to the baseline condition, and 15% higher for the 110 Hz condition in comparison to the baseline condition respectively. Conclusion: The results suggest that stimulation ofafferent fibers onthe glabrous skinwith TENS could have a net facilitatory effect on the maximum motoroutput.