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Short-term and long-term effects of electrical stimulation on skin properties
Abdul-Majeed R Almalty1, Saja H Hamed, Fuad M Al-Dabbak
1Physical and Occupational Therapy Department, College of Allied Health Sciences, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan. abedmalty@hu.edu.jo
Background:
Electrical stimulation (ES) has been used in treating different medical conditions; however, not much is known about the effect of this application on skin properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term and long-term effects of ES on biophysical properties of the skin.
Methods:
A pretest-posttest control design was used in the study. Thirteen men (N = 13, age (M ± SD), 19 ± 5.6 years) were free of skin abnormality on the volar aspect of both forearms. Four areas were allocated and marked with a layout template of two circles 2 cm in diameter and 2 cm apart. Areas 1 and 2 were allocated on the experimental forearm and area 3 and 4 on the control forearm. ES was applied for 15 minutes with two rubber electrodes 8 cm apart surrounding areas 1 and 2 on the experimental forearm three times a week for 2 weeks. Skin properties including transepidermal water loss (TEWL), melanin content, erythema, elasticity and pH were measured pre-ES, during ES and post-ES, and after 2 weeks of applying ES to find out the short-term and long-term effects on skin.
Results:
The TEWL was increased during ES at 7, 15 and 15-minutes post-ES compared with the baseline (p < 0.01) and to the control forearm (p = 0.04) measurements, and no increase have been noticed of TEWL on the control forearm (p = 0.11). Also, we found no difference in the other skin properties (p > 0.05) on both forearms, and there were no long-term effects (p > 0.05) in any tested variable.
Conclusion:
Electrical stimulation caused temporary increase in TEWL with no effects on other skin properties.
