Time Course of Inflammatory and Endocrine Factors Following a Single-Bout of High-Intensity WB-EMS - A Randomized...

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Biomedical Science

Background:

• Whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) is an emerging training modality.
• Understanding the physiological responses to WB-EMS is crucial for optimizing training protocols.
• Inflammatory and endocrine markers provide insights into the body's adaptation to exercise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the time course of inflammatory and endocrine factors following a single high-intensity WB-EMS session.
• To compare these responses with a time- and intensity-matched circuit training (CT) protocol.
• To assess markers of muscle damage, cell populations, cytokines, angiogenic factors, adipokines, and hormones up to 72 hours post-exercise.

Main Methods:

• Twelve healthy participants (5 men, 7 women) underwent one WB-EMS session and one CT session with a 3-week washout.
• Blood samples were collected pre- and post-exercise, and at 1.5, 3, 24, 48, and 72 hours.
• Assessed markers included creatine kinase (CK), myoglobin, creatinine, RBC, WBC, thrombocytes, IL-1Ra, IL-6, IL-10, MCP-1, IL-8, VEGF, thrombospondin, leptin, adiponectin, testosterone, and cortisol.

Main Results:

• WB-EMS induced significant creatine kinase (CK) elevations peaking at 72 hours, indicating muscle damage.
• Both WB-EMS and CT similarly affected white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), IL-1Ra, IL-8, leptin, and cortisol.
• While WB-EMS increased MCP-1, the overall inflammatory and hormonal signaling did not significantly differ between WB-EMS and CT.

Conclusions:

• A single high-intensity WB-EMS session does not elicit significantly different inflammatory and hormonal signaling compared to acute circuit training.
• Despite inducing muscle damage, WB-EMS shows similar acute physiological responses to CT.
• Longer-term studies are necessary to determine if regular WB-EMS leads to distinct training adaptations.