Changes in Muscle Thickness after 8 Weeks of Strength Training, Electromyostimulation, and Both Combined in Healthy Young Adults

Filipe Matos, João Amaral, Eduardo Martinez, Rui Canário-Lemos, Tiago Moreira, Jurandir Cavalcante, Rafael Peixoto, Bruno Nobre Pinheiro, Lino Scipião Junior, Paulo Uchoa, Nuno Garrido, Victor Machado Reis, Gabriéla Matos Monteiro and José Vilaça-Alves
Additional contact information
Filipe Matos: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
João Amaral: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Eduardo Martinez: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Rui Canário-Lemos: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Tiago Moreira: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Jurandir Cavalcante: Study Group in Strength Training and Fitness Activities (GEETFAA), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Rafael Peixoto: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Bruno Nobre Pinheiro: Study Group in Strength Training and Fitness Activities (GEETFAA), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Lino Scipião Junior: Study Group in Strength Training and Fitness Activities (GEETFAA), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Paulo Uchoa: Study Group in Strength Training and Fitness Activities (GEETFAA), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Nuno Garrido: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Victor Machado Reis: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Gabriéla Matos Monteiro: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
José Vilaça-Alves: Sport Sciences Department, University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: The aim of this study was to verify and compare the effects of electromyostimulation training (EMS), strength training (ST), and both combined (STEMS), through the analysis of the elbow flexors muscle thickness. Forty subjects (24.45 ± 3.53 years), were randomly divided equally in 4 groups: 3 experimental groups and 1 control group. Each experimental group was submitted to one of three interventions, either an ST protocol, an EMS protocol, or a STEMS protocol. The control group (CG) did not perform any type of physical activity. Ultrasonography (US) was used to measure muscle thickness (MT) at 50 and 60% of the distance between the acromion and the olecranon. The results showed a significant difference in the elbow flexors muscle thickness after 8 weeks, both in the STG, EMSG, and STEMSG, but not in the CG. However, no significant differences were observed between the intervention protocols. It seems that an increase in MT can be obtained using either with ST, EMS, or both combined, however, the results doesn’t support the overlap of one method in relation to the others. EMS can be another interesting tool to induce muscle hypertrophy, but not necessarily better.

Keywords: strength training; electrostimulation; muscle thickness; ultrasonography; hypertrophy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3184/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3184/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3184-:d:766596

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().