Cross-Education Of Contralateral Antagonists

Previous studies well documented the impact of unilateral training of limb muscle on the untrained contralateral homologous muscle. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the electrical muscle stimulation on the dominant wrist flexors for 6 weeks cause an increase in the muscle strength of the contralateral wrist extensors in healthy adult men. Ethical approval was obtained from Institutional Review Board. All participants were volunteers and provided written informed consent. Among young adult males working in our hospital, 30 subjects who voluntarily accepted to participate in this study were assessed for eligibility. Twenty three young-adult healthy males were included in this double-blind prospective study. These volunteers were randomized into two groups. In Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) group, electrical muscle stimulation of the right wrist flexor muscles was applied; in Controls, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was applied. Electrodes were placed over the flexor aspect of the right forearm in both groups. Electrical stimulation was applied for thirty sessions (one session a day, five days a week for six weeks) in both groups by the same researcher. Compex2 (Medicompex SA, Switzerland) was used for electrical stimulation. Isokinetic torque was measured in the right and left wrist flexors and extensors before and after trial. Isokinetic torque was measured in the right (trained) and left (untrained) forearm with the Cybex (Humac 2004/Norm) extremity-testing system.