Description
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to endurance training (ET) and resistance training (RT) have been used on exercise tolerance and balance in patients with COPD. 42 male patients were assigned randomly to the intervention group (n = 22) or control group (n = 20). The main limitation of the study was the reduced number of patients and the cardiopulmonary testing technique which could be evaluated by other techniques such as cardiopulmonary exercise testing and could give more measurements. Endurance training: Warm up for five minutes with stretches and other movements before you start. An individual endurance training program must consist of 45 minutes of walking on the Ergo-Cycle.The focus of the training is on interval training, alternating 5 minutes of active recovery with 10 minutes of high-intensity exercise at 60–70% of maximum heart rate within 45 minutes. Resistance training consists of two sets of 8 to 10 repetitions of upper and lower limb movements with one minute rest between each set to develop the muscles of the upper and lower limbs, including the pectorals, deltoids, triceps and biceps. Leg extensions, leg press and leg curls are the main exercises. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES): The subject was seated and the foot was free with 60° of leg flexion to achieve maximal contraction. The quadriceps and calf muscles of both legs were electrically stimulated with two electrostimulators (Globus 400) with four output channels. Sixteen self-adhesive (in both legs), rectangular, bipolar adhesive electrodes (5 × 5 cm 2 ) are applied, and each of them is placed on one of the anatomical motor points of the quadriceps and lower leg. The target muscles are vastus medialis, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis. Four electrodes are placed on the semitendinosus, and the motor points of the semimembranous muscles are previously determined, and the other electrodes are placed on the soleus and gastrocnemius (through the medial and lateral gastrocnemius) muscle-motor points.