Sport Physiology & Management Investigations

Sport Physiology & Management Investigations

Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Dynamic Balance after Repeated Bouts of Wingate Test

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
2 EA4660-C3S Laboratory – Culture, Sports, Health and Society, University Bourgogne France-Comte, Besancon, France
3 Research Group in Neuroscience of Human Movement (NeuroMove), Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
10.22034/spmi.2024.417030.2523
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of transcranial direct current anodal stimulation on the dynamic balance of active men after three bouts of the lower limb Wingate test. Fifteen healthy and active men participated in this study. Upon 3 visits to the lab, subjects received one of three types of brain stimulation, including 1) anodal stimulation of the M1, 2) anodal stimulation of the DLPFC, and 3) sham stimulation. In each session and before brain stimulation, the dynamic balance of both legs was measured. After the brain stimulation, the subjects performed three bouts of 30 s Wingate test. After the third bout, dynamic balance was measured again in both legs. The results showed that after performing three bouts of the Wingate test under M1 and DLPFC conditions, the dynamic balance test score of the right leg was significantly higher than that of the sham stimulation condition (p= 0.027, p= 0.04, respectively). Also, the results demonstrated that the dynamic balance score of the left leg was significantly lower after performing three bouts of Wingate test compared to the baseline (p= 0.036) while no significant differences were observed among three brain stimulation conditions. It seems that anodal stimulation of M1 and DLPFC regions can be used as a strategy to reduce the detrimental effects of neuromuscular fatigue on dynamic balance. More research is warranted to investigate the underlying mechanisms of these findings.
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