Efeitos da estimulação elétrica funcional sobre o desempenho físico de pacientes em fase II e III da reabilitação cardíaca

Abstract

This paper aims at evaluating the effects of functional electrical stimulation (FES) on the strength, resistance and muscular trofism in lower limbs, cardio respiratory fitness and quality of life in patients who are in stage II and II of the cardiac rehabilitation (CR). It is about a randomized clinic trial, having 20 individuals who were previously submitted to Bypass Graft Surgery and/or Aortic Valve Replacement and changed randomly to the placebo group (PG=10) or treatment group (FESG=10). The evaluations carried out before and after the intervention were the following: Test of One Maximum Repetition for muscular strength, Sitting and Standing Test for resistance; perimeter of the thighs for muscular trofism; Six-minute Walking Test for cardio respiratory capability; and application of questionnaire SF-36 in order to evaluate the quality of life. The patients were submitted to the application of FES in their quadriceps for eight weeks, twice a week, for 40min each session. The PG received the FES in a way that the electrical current caused only a tingling sensation, on the other hand, the FESG received the FES in a way so it caused visible muscle contraction, therefore the knees could extend and the increase of overload up to 30% in the 1MR. Concerning the findings in the study, FES increased significantly the strength and the muscular resistance in both groups, however in a higher level in FESG. There were a few increases in the SF-36 dominance with the use of FES. In view of that, it is possible to conclude that FES is a valuable tool and it may contribute to improve the muscular performance in lower limbs of CR patients.