Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Assessment of Neuromuscular Function Using Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation
Published on: September 13, 2015
Effect of voluntary contraction with electrical stimulation to antagonist muscle on agonist H-reflex
T Yamaguchi1, S Tanabe, T Watanabe
1Keio University Tsukigase Rehabilitation Center, Izu-Shi, Shizuoka-Ken, Japan. yamaguchi@ktrc.med.keio.ac.jp
Objective:
Hybrid exercise (HE) was designed to use the force generated by an electrically stimulated antagonist to provide resistance to a volitionally contracting agonist. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the soleus H-reflex before and after HE or conventional resistance exercise (CRE).
Methods:
The experiments were carried out in 18 healthy subjects (5 men and 13 women; 19-30 yr), who were divided into 2 groups of 9 for each protocol (HE or CRE). The exercise sessions lasted for 15 consecutive minutes. The soleus Hmax/Mmax was measured before and after the HE or the CRE.
Results:
In the HE group, although there was no significant difference, the soleus Hmax/Mmax after the exercise increased compared with before the exercise (54.7 +/- 10.2% to 59.0 +/- 14.5%). On the other hand, the soleus Hmax/Mmax decreased in the CRE group (61.8 +/- 14.9% to 55.7 +/- 16.1%). In the rate of change of the soleus Hmax/Mmax, the result for the HE group was significantly higher than in the CRE group (108.0 +/- 11.7% and 89.1 +/- 8.0%, respectively) (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Our results show a clear difference of the neurophysiological mechanism between HE and CRE. Thus, HE might not be an alternative method for CRE.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Muscle Contraction
Muscle Contraction
Somatic Spinal Reflexes
One of the most well-known somatic spinal reflexes is the stretch reflex, which is activated by the sudden stretching of a muscle. This reflex involves the activation of specialized sensory receptors called muscle spindles, which are located in the muscle tissue and detect changes in the length and speed of muscle contractions. When a muscle is suddenly...
Muscle Stimulation Frequency
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...
Neuromuscular Junction And Blockade

