Transcript below:
Hi everybody, in this episode I’m going to explain how bioelectronics can help push back muscle atrophy in ageing.
Neuro-muscular stimulation training or NMS protocols have been proven to counteract muscle decline in seniors. The loss in muscle coupled with a decrease in specific force and shift in fibre composition are hallmarks of ageing. At present, it is clear that the most efficient method that has been used to counteract age-related muscle weakness is long term physical exercise. Nevertheless, certain pathologic conditions and ageing limit the effectiveness of exercise and, therefore, the benefits from it.
Original research from 2014 addressed whether electrical muscle stimulation is an alternative intervention to improve muscle recovery by defining the molecular mechanism associated with improvement in structure and function The studies analysed the effects of the stimulation training on healthy seniors at the functional, structural and molecular level. These seniors had a normal lifestyle, without routine sports activity. Over 9 weeks in 24 training sessions, NMS treatment and exercise protocols were were shown to be able to improve muscle torque and functional performances of seniors and increased the size of their fast-twitch muscle fibres.
At a molecular level, NMS also induced up-regulation of IGF-1 and modulation of MuRF-1, a muscle-specific atrophy-related gene. The data evidenced that NMS training is a safe method to counteract muscle decline associated with ageing.
