Effects of Catch-Like Property on Muscle Fatigue in Intermittent Electrical Stimulation

Catch like property is a force enhancement produced in the muscle when a briefhigh frequency burst of pulses is added to a low frequency electrical stimulation train. In functional electrical stimulation(FES)low frequency stimulation of approxi‑ mately 20 Hz has primarily been used to reduce muscle fatigue. In the present studythe effects of catch like property on muscle fatigue were analyzed using intermittent electri‑ cal stimulation. The results showed that compared to conventional low frequency stimulation low frequency stimulation taking advantage of the catch like property significantly increased the maximum muscle force and workload and decreased muscle fatigue. The results of the present study suggest that catch like property is useful in clinical administration of FES.