Electrical Stimulation Versus Voluntary Exercise on the Navicular Height, Calcaneal Pitch Angle, and Cross-Sectional Area in Healthy Subjects: A Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

The important function of the intrinsic foot muscles is the dynamic stabilization of the medial longitudinal

arch (MLA). Several studies have reported that implementing short foot exercise (SFE) and electrical

stimulation (ES) amid the intrinsic foot muscles may increase MLA height. Hence, the aim of this study was

to compare the effects of ES versus SFE on navicular drop (ND), calcaneal pitch angle (CPA), and cross

sectional area (CSA) of the abductor hallucis (AbdH) muscle. 20 healthy female subjects were randomly

assigned to undergo ES (n=10) or SFE (n=10). SFE performed 30 repetitions whereas 20 min per day for

ES, 3 days/week, for 4 weeks. ND, CPA, and the CSA of the AbdH muscle were assessed before and after

intervention. The results showed that ES group significantly decreased in ND after training (p<0.05) without

significant differences between groups. The CPA is a little change in both groups (SFE = 0.4o and ES = 2.4o ;

p>0.05). The CSA of the AbdH muscle in both groups was increased (ES =10.93 mm2 and SFE=7.44 mm2 ;

p<0.05) with no significant difference between ES and SFE. These results demonstrated that ES and SFE

alone could improve intrinsic foot muscle size. Nevertheless, ES tended to increase MLA more than SFE

alone. Hence, ES can be considered as an alternative treatment to increase MLA and intrinsic foot muscle

size.