The effects of electrical muscle stimulation training in a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease population – a pilot study

Exercise training is currently advocated as a therapeutic modality for improving the systemic manifestations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) -including peripheral muscle dysfunction, decreased exercise tolerance, weight loss, depletion of muscle mass and muscle strength and poor health status. Owing to a limited cardiopulmonary reserve, COPD patients are frequently physically unable to tolerate sufficient training intensities which would afford them with the benefits associated with conventional exercise training interventions. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) appears to have a limited demand on ventilatory requirements and dyspnoea, and may be a promising exercise training alternative for patients with COPD.