| Author: | Cheung, Chin-ting |
| Title: | Effect of Acu-TENS on recovery heart rate after treadmill running exercise in normal healthy subjects |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2005 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation Heart beat Running -- Physiological aspects |
| Department: | Department of Rehabilitation Sciences |
| Pages: | ix, 79 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Background: In response to exercise, heart rate and oxygen consumption increases. After exercise ceases, recovery of heart rate to the resting condition takes place. With the same load of exercise intensity, a faster return of heart rate to pre-exercise level may suggest a more efficient recovery of oxygen uptake. This study aims to investigate the effect of Acu-TENS on bilateral PC 6 to healthy male subjects in immediate heart rate changes after intensive treadmill running exercise. Research design and Methods: A single blinded, randomized controlled trail with repeated measures was used. Twenty-eight healthy male subjects (mean age of 26.96 +- 4.36 yrs) participated in 3 different protocols in randomized order. Before any intervention, subject was asked to rest in supine position for 15 minutes for recording of resting heart rate, systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure. For protocol A, the subject was asked to run on treadmill following the Bruce protocol until their heart rate reached 70% of their maximum HR (220-age). Once this 'target' heart rate was reached, the subject would immediately adopt a supine position and Acu-TENS was applied immediately to bilateral PC 6. HR was monitored and recorded at half minute interval until it returned to the pre-exercise baseline. Blood pressure was recorded at 2-minute intervals until the resting heart-rate was returned to baseline. Time required to achieve the target HR and Category - Ratio Scale of Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) at 70% maximum HR was also recorded. For protocol B, procedures were similar to protocol A except that Acu-TENS was applied for 45 minutes to the subject in supine position prior to treadmill running. For the protocol C, the procedure was same as protocol A except placebo Acu-TENS (no TENS output from the machine) was delivered. Results: This study showed that Acu-TENS on bilateral PC 6 was able to shorten the heart rate (HR) recovery time irrespective of whether the Acu-TENS was applied prior to or immediately after exercise (p<0.001). Application of Acu-TENS prior to exercise demonstrated the shortest HR recovery time but the difference between TENS application before or immediately after exercise did not reach statistical significant level. After Acu-TENS for 45 minutes before exercise (Protocol B), subjects took longer time (8.14 +- 1.21 minutes) to reach 70% of their maximum HR, compared to 7.72 +- 1.35 min with TENS immediately after exercise and 7.83 +- 1.26 minutes with placebo TENS. However, this difference did not reach statistical difference (p=0.12). At 70% maximum HR, subjects expressed the lowest RPE score during protocol B (TENS prior to exercise) compared with the other 2 protocols (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that Acu-TENS applied to bilateral PC 6 either for 45 minutes prior to exercise or immediately after exercise was able to shorten HR recovery time in healthy male subjects. Acu-TENS also appeared to reduce the level of subjective feeling of exertion during exercise. This suggests Acu-TENS over PC6 may help to restore the body's processes to pre-exercise conditions. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b18182124.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 4.4 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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