|
Effects of Self-Care by Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulator on Subjective Fatigue in Collegiate Female Football Players [Received April 28, 2021; Accepted August 10, 2022] This study examined self-care through neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and its efficacy on subjective fatigue in collegiate female football players. Fourteen females (age: 20.7±0.8 years) participated in a crossover experimental design. The participants were randomly allocated to group A (n=7, phase Ⅰ: self-care, phase Ⅱ: control) or B (n=7, phase Ⅰ: control, phase Ⅱ: self-care). The study was completed in two phases with a washout period of 21 days set between phases. NMES was used for five nights in self-care but not in the control phase. The subjective fatigue magnitude was measured using the visual analogue scale; Ogri, Shirakawa, Azumi sleep inventory MA version (OSA); and cortisol awakening response (CAR). Subjective fatigue was significantly different between the before self-care and next morning groups (p<0.02). However, the control group showed no significant differences between before sleep and next morning (p=0.113) in phase I. There were no significant differences between both groups (self-care: p=0.6943, control: p=0.1154) in phase Ⅱ. OSA scored significantly higher by self-care in F4 (p<0.002) in phase Ⅰ and F5 (p<0.004) in phase Ⅱ. CAR showed no significant difference between phases Ⅰ (p=0.2642) and Ⅱ (p=0.2275). These results suggest that self-care with NMES has potential to improve fatigue and sleep quality. Further research with a sufficient sample size is required to confirm the efficacy of the present self-care procedure. Keywords: female football player, self-care, Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulator, subjective fatigue |