INTRODUCTION: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation is a clinical strategy for increasing of muscular performance. It is known that one of the main limiting factors of the electrical stimulation for strength increase is the discomfort caused by the currents used in the process. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the level of sensory discomfort caused by low and medium frequency currents in the neuromuscular electrical stimulation of the quadriceps femoris muscle. METHODS: Forty-five female healthy volunteers with age between 18 and 30 years participated in the study. All the volunteers were submitted to electrical stimulation with low and medium frequency. Sensory discomfort was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). RESULTS: The results revealed mean value of 6.1 for the sensory discomfort in the low frequency stimulation and 6.4 for the medium frequency stimulation, without significant difference between them (p/ =/ 0.61). Concerning the intensities used, the mean was of 45.64 mA for the low frequency stimulation and 121.67 mA for the medium frequency stimulation. This difference was statistically significant (p/ </ 0.0001). CONCLUSION: There was no difference between the sensory discomfort caused by low and medium frequency currents in the neuromuscular electrical stimulation of the quadriceps femoris muscle.
electrical stimulation; physical therapy modalities; muscle contraction
