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. 2018 Jul 31:9:1035.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01035. eCollection 2018.

Regular Muscle Electrical Stimulation Could Act Favorably On Bone Mineral Density in Healthy Aged Subjects

Thierry Paillard  1
Affiliations

Regular Muscle Electrical Stimulation Could Act Favorably On Bone Mineral Density in Healthy Aged Subjects

Thierry Paillard. Front Physiol. .
No abstract available

Keywords: aging; bone mass; bone mineral density; elderly; muscle electrical stimulation; old subject; osteopenia; osteoporosis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The effects of NMES on the osteogenesis or the reduction of bone loss related to advancing age might be explained by the induction of mechanical and humoral factors linked to electro-induced contractions. The figure above illustrates the application of electrical stimulation through surface electrodes that generates muscle contractions. This muscle action can be characterized by tractions of tendons on the bone extremities. These tractions engender a mechanical stress along the bone diaphysis on the opposite side to the location of the muscle in relation to the axis of the bone (represented by small right arrows on the figure toward the bone diaphysis). The zone of mechanical stress on the bone diaphysis matches mechanical factors stimulating osteoblasts. It is known that the higher the intensity of the current, the stronger the muscle contraction. It turns out that the stronger the muscle contraction, the greater the mechanical stress on the bone where the muscle is inserted. The ostegenesis would be directly proportional to the value of the mechanical stress induced. Therefore, the osteogenesis could be at least partially related to the intensity of the current. This figure also illustrates the fact that the NMES induces acute physiological adaptations including secretions of local growth factors (represented by small broken arrows on the figure into the muscle toward the bone diaphysis). These whole stimuli regularly generated through the chronic application of NMES would be currently considered as positive on the BMD.
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