A new and reliable system for preventing muscle weakness and muscle loss during bed-rest conditions

A system to generate mechanical load to the musculoskeletal system, through neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), was developed, with load control through an isometric dynamometer adapted for bed-rest situations. The system allows for the control of several NMES parameters, and positions the patients’ knee extensor muscles at optimal length for mechanical load generation for both maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) and for evoked force (EF). Reliability was obtained for both intra-rater and inter-rater conditions. High intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs), and low values for the standard error of measurement (SEM) and for the minimum detectable change (MDC) were obtained for both intra-rater and inter-rater reliability measurements. These results are evidence that the system is a reliable tool for evaluating neuromuscular conditions, and for generating mechanical load in bed-rest situations.