How Muscle Fibre Composition Impacts Electrical Stimulation Effectiveness

Electrical stimulation is a popular and widely used approach for physical rehabilitation. When used for muscle strengthening, it is necessary to take into account the fact that electrical stimulation produces muscle contractions in a relatively inefficient way.

In this article, we take a brief look at muscle fibre types. Following a neurological insult, muscle fibre types undergo transformation, producing changes that affect the ability of muscles to do work. We examine the particular case of spinal cord injury and consider how this affects the effectiveness of electrical stimulation.

Approaches to combat fatigue are examined. Finally, we consider attempts being made to improve the performance of stimulators and produce consistent muscle contractions under all circumstances.

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