Does Combined Electrical Muscle Stimulation on Gastrocnemius Muscle Training Improve Neuromuscular Response and Sports Performance?

The quadricep muscles are commonly targeted for electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), while the gastrocnemius muscles, despite their crucial role in push-off, are often overlooked. The purpose was to investigate whether incorporating EMS into gastrocnemius training could optimize athletic performance. Two groups of athletes received regular gastrocnemius training (Training-only) or combined EMS into training (Training + EMS) over four weeks. The sprint time, jump height, take-off ground reaction forces, ankle and knee joint power, and electromyography were assessed before and after the training sessions. Two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was performed to determine any significant effect. Both training-only and training + EMS groups showed increased jump height and faster sprint time after training (P<0.001). The participants in the two groups also generated higher take-off force and larger ankle and knee powers after training (P<0.001). EMS adds no significant improvement in performance outcomes (P>0.05). This study implicates that both training-only and training + EMS can enhance sports performance and take-off force and lower-limb joint powers of the athletes, but the use of EMS can only induce minimal added improvements on gastrocnemius training.