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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Dec;13(12):e3332.
doi: 10.1002/brb3.3332. Epub 2023 Nov 16.

The effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on cycling ergometry and recovery in healthy young individuals

Sefa Haktan Hatik  1 , Mesut Arslan  2 , Ömer Demirbilek  3 , Ali Veysel Özden  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on cycling ergometry and recovery in healthy young individuals

Sefa Haktan Hatik et al. Brain Behav. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Background: It is aimed to examine the potential benefits and effects of the use of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for sporting purposes on recovery, fatigue, and sportive performance level.

Methods: In this study, 90 people between the ages of 18-23 were participated. They were randomly divided into three groups as bilateral sham, unilateral left, and bilateral VNS. A 4-day protocol was applied to the participants. Cycling exercise was performed with maximum performance for 30 min under the same watt load. Pulse, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, distance, pain, fatigue, lactic acid level, and autonomic nervous system were evaluated.

Results: Within the groups, there was a statistically significant difference between the data (p < .05) except for the distance covered parameter. When we compare the groups, in addition to the distance traveled in all groups, there is no statistically significant difference in the 1st day 1st measurement and 2nd measurement data of all parameters (p > .05 When we compared the data according to days, there was a statistically significant difference between bilateral stimulation (BS) and unilateral stimulation, only pain and fatigue levels (p < .05).

Conclusion: In our study, we saw that BS application gave positive results in reducing pain and fatigue due to cycling exercise compared to other applications. Similar results were obtained when we evaluated the data on a daily basis. We believe that VNS will be beneficial in reducing pain and fatigue, especially during and after the competition halftime.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov 05778058.

Keywords: auricular; cycling ergometry; recovery; transcutaneous; vagus nerve stimulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known conflicts of interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The authors contributed equally to the article. Final draft by all authors.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Protocol of the study.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Consort diagram.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Vagustim device and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Elite heart rate variability (HRV) software.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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