Table 2.
Changes in functional capacity, serum biochemistry (albumin level), muscle strength, muscle circumference and body composition
| n | Baseline (t0) | 12 weeks (t1) | Time* (p value) | Repeated measures ANOVA* (p value) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Functional capacity | STS-60 (n) |
Group 0.022 Time 0.962 Interaction 0.447 |
||||
| NMES | 11 |
27.82 ± 9.49 29.50 (19.25–32.00) |
28.09 ± 14.31 27.00 (21.00–32.00) |
|||
| 0.97% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 9 |
20.33 ± 5.59 22.00 (14.50–25.00) |
22.89 ± 6.94 26.00 (14.50–27.50) |
|||
| 12.59% | ||||||
| control | 11 |
18.00 ± 9.24 16.00 (13.00–27.00) |
15.40 ± 9.28 18.00 (8.25–19.75) |
|||
| -14.44% | ||||||
| Serum biochemistry | Serum albumin level (g/dl) | Interaction 0.008 | ||||
| NMES | 12 |
4.10 ± 0.26 4.10 (4.00–4.35) |
4.33 ± 0.45 4.35 (4.025–4.48) |
0.030 | ||
| 5.61% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 9 |
3.99 ± 0.34 4.10 (3.65–4.30) |
4.08 ± 0.35 4.00 (3.75–4.40) |
0.347 | ||
| 2.26% | ||||||
| control | 11 |
4.04 ± 0.40 4.10 (3.80–4.20) |
3.71 ± 0.71 3.90 (3.60–4.00) |
0.081 | ||
| -8.17% | ||||||
| Group* (p value) | 0.747 | 0.032 | ||||
| Muscle strength | QFM force right (kgf) |
Group 0.807 Time 0.021 Interaction 0.082 |
||||
| NMES | 7 |
13,30 ± 5,65 12.70 (9.10–19.80) |
17,77 ± 3,27 18.30 (15.30–19.90) |
|||
| 33.61% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 7 |
14.05 ± 4.31 15.70 (10.30–16.66) |
15.21 ± 6.09 14.20 (10.50–18.40) |
|||
| 8.26% | ||||||
| control | 10 |
12.81 ± 3.75 10.90 (9.64–16.80) |
12.98 ± 5.09 12.45 (9.53–17.18) |
|||
| 1.33% | ||||||
| QFM force left (kgf) | Interaction 0.026 | |||||
| NMES | 7 |
14.26 ± 5.20 15.20 (10.10–17.86) |
17.91 ± 3.61 17.80 (15.20–20.60) |
0.059 | ||
| 25.60% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 7 |
15.75 ± 5.86 16.76 (11.70–18.73) |
13.74 ± 4.71 13.10 (9.10–19.10) |
0.130 | ||
| -12.76% | ||||||
| control | 10 |
11.07 ± 3.96 9.77 (8.09–15.85) |
13.08 ± 3.19 13.95 (10.70–15.20) |
0.132 | ||
| 18.16% | ||||||
| Group* (p value) | 0.157 | 0.044 | ||||
| Muscle acircumference | QFM circumference right (cm) |
Group 0.402 Time 0.090 Interaction 0.534 |
||||
| NMES | 12 |
46.67 ± 7.45 44.50 (41.50–50.25) |
44.54 ± 7.35 45.00 (39.13–46.00) |
|||
| -4.56% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 9 |
42.72 ± 3.87 42.00 (38.75–46.00) |
42.39 ± 3.66 43.00 (39.25–45.50) |
|||
| -0.77% | ||||||
| control | 11 |
43.68 ± 4.83 45.00 (38.00–47.00) |
42.68 ± 5.34 44.00 (38.00–47.00) |
|||
| -2.29% | ||||||
| QFM circumference left (cm) |
Group 0.281 Time 0.291 Interaction 0.157 |
|||||
| NMES | 12 |
46.33 ± 6.29 46.00 (42.50–48.75) |
44.88 ± 7.21 45.50 (38.88–47.00) |
|||
| -3.13% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 9 |
42.06 ± 2.86 42.00 (39.00–44.50) |
42.89 ± 3.68 44.00 (39.00–45.75) |
|||
| 1.97% | ||||||
| control | 11 |
43.18 ± 4.21 43.00 (39.50–47.00) |
42.23 ± 5.26 44.00 (39.00–45.00) |
|||
| -2.20% | ||||||
| Body composition | Weight (kg) |
Group 0.586 Time 0.684 Interaction 0.146 |
||||
| NMES | 12 |
77.13 ± 22.54 73.75 (57.43–88.48) |
77.66 ± 22.78 73.05 (58.73–89.33) |
|||
| 0.69% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 9 |
71.64 ± 13.61 68.30 (63.10–81.35) |
71.81 ± 13.41 68.60 (63.20–80.95) |
|||
| 0.24% | ||||||
| control | 11 |
70.86 ± 12.68 70.80 (62.70–76.60) |
69.70 ± 12.24 71.10 (60.90–76.00) |
|||
| -1.64% | ||||||
| BMI (kg/m2) |
Group 0.160 Time 0.390 Interaction—(violation of equality test of covariance matrices) |
|||||
| NMES | 12 |
25.69 ± 6.9 24.45 (21.00–28.68) |
25.78 ± 6.93 24.30 (21.35–28.95) |
|||
| 0.35% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 9 |
24.61 ± 2.77 24.10 (23.10–26.45) |
24.63 ± 2.81 24.10 (22.90–26.45) |
|||
| 0.08% | ||||||
| control | 11 |
24.94 ± 4.08 24.90 (21.30–29.50) |
24.60 ± 3.78 24.90 (21.07–28.00) |
|||
| -1.36% | ||||||
| Fat proportion (%) |
Group 0.821 Time 0.849 Interaction 0.373 |
|||||
| NMES | 7 |
31.54 ± 6.14 31.70 (24.45–36.40) |
27.01 ± 7.32 29.30 (20.70–32.15) |
|||
| -14.36% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 6 |
29.28 ± 4.54 28.30 (27.40–34.00) |
33.65 ± 10.54 31.25 (27.78–38.23) |
|||
| 14.92% | ||||||
| control | 9 |
29.49 ± 5.12 30.50 (25.70–31.90) |
31.10 ± 12.86 33.20 (17.65–39.80) |
|||
| 5.46% | ||||||
| Muscle proportion (%) | No ANOVA no variance of homogeneity (If the variances are unequal. this can affect the Type I error rate.) | |||||
| NMES | 7 |
34.50 ± 3.34 33.80 (31.40–37.30) |
37.93 ± 2.35 38.20 (37.35–39.05) |
|||
| 9.94% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 6 |
34.37 ± 1.42 34.70 (34.20–35.00) |
34.15 ± 4.87 36.40 (28.58–37.45) |
|||
| -0.64% | ||||||
| control | 9 |
34.14 ± 2.17 33.95 (31.73–35.43) |
32.61 ± 6.87 28.10 (27.20–41.05) |
|||
| -4.48% | ||||||
| Water proportion (%) |
Group 0.821 Time 0.966 Interaction 0.312 |
|||||
| NMES | 7 |
50.59 ± 4.55 50.50 (46.95–55.85) |
53.94 ± 5.40 52.30 (50.15–58.60) |
|||
| 6.62% | ||||||
| NMES + VR | 6 |
52.27 ± 3.34 53.00 (48.50–53.70) |
49.90 ± 5.73 50.75 (47.00–53.33) |
|||
| -4.53% | ||||||
| control | 9 |
53.17 ± 3.77 52.75 (51.05–55.40) |
51.98 ± 8.73 53.60 (42.95–60.85) |
|||
| -2.24% | ||||||
Results expressed as mean (standard deviation), median (interquartile range)and differences of means from t0 to t1 in %
ANOVA: analysis of variance: t0: baseline; t1: after 12 weeks; QFM: Quadriceps femoris muscle; BMI: Body mass index; STS-60: 1-Minute Sit-to-Stand Test; NMES: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation; NMES + VR: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation + virtual reality; CO: control; Statistical significance: *p < 0.05
*The two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was the major method used. The main effects of group and time were only reported if there was no significant interaction. If the interaction was significant. the one-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used for each simple main effect