Transcutaneous electrical muscle stimulation does not alter regional arm adiposity and muscularity

The present study evaluated the effects of an electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) training protocol claimed to elicit site-specific fat reduction and muscle hypertrophy. The protocol includes 6 weeks (3 sessions/week, 10 contractions/session) of high frequency (2500 Hz) transcutaneous EMS training on upper arm muscle and fat tissue. Two groups of 10 subjects were stimulated either on the dominant biceps brachii (B) or triceps brachii (T). The non-dominant arm served as a control. Post-training measures of upper arm fat and muscle tissue evaluated with girths, skinfolds, and ultrasound measures of fat did not change following EMS training of the treatment and control arms (p > 0.05). Upper arm x-ray measurements to estimate total upper arm volume, muscle plus bone volume, and fat volume also did not change significantly for groups B and T following training (p > 0.05). The results thus indicate no selective upper arm muscle hypertrophy or site-specific fat reduction with high frequency EMS training of healthy muscle. Am. J Hum. Biol. 10:317-326, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.