The F wave, which is an index of excitability of the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord, is sometimes measured in order to diagnose neurological disorders and determine the effects of rehabilitation.Conventionally, when recording F-waves from the vastus lateralis muscle, electrical stimulation causes strong pain in some subjects, making it impossible to perform the test.
Masataka Kurobe, an associate researcher at Kansai University of Health Sciences, and Professor Toshiaki Suzuki, Dean of the Graduate School of Kansai University of Health Sciences, investigated a method to reduce pain when recording F waves from the vastus lateralis muscle.
We investigated the difference in pain between 0.5 Hz electrical stimulation and recording F waves and 0.2 Hz electrical stimulation and recording F waves in the same way as before.As a result, the pain was reduced when electrical stimulation was performed at 0.2 Hz.
As a result of this research, many patients will be able to measure the F wave from the vastus lateralis muscle, which is expected to be applied to diagnosis of diseases and evaluation of rehabilitation effects.
Paper information:【Muscle & Nerve】Pain reduction method in recording F-waves from the vastus lateralis muscle
