Passive Strategies for the Prevention of Muscle Wasting During Recovery from Sports Injuries

Abstract

Background: Recovery from sport injuries commonly involves a muscle disuse situation (i.e., reduction in physical activity levels sometimes preceded by joint immobilization) with subsequent negative effects on muscle mass and function. Purpose: To summarize the current body of knowledge on the effectiveness of different physical strategies that are currently available to mitigate the negative effects of muscle disuse during recovery from sports injury. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to summarize the information available on neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), blood flow restriction (BFR) and vibration intervention. Results: The concomitant application of BFR and low-intensity exercise has shown promising results in the prevention of disuse-induced muscle atrophy. Some benefits might also be obtained with BFR alone (i.e., with no exercise), but evidence is still inconclusive. NMES, which can be applied both passively and synchronously with exercise, can also attenuate most of the negative changes associated with disuse periods. In turn, the mechanical stimulus elicited by vibration seems effective to reduce the loss of bone mineral density that accompanies muscle disuse and could also provide some benefits at the muscle tissue level. Conclusions: Different physical strategies are available to attenuate disuse-induced negative consequences during recovery from injury. These interventions can be applied passively, which makes them feasible during the first stages of the recovery. However, it would be advisable to apply these strategies in conjunction with low-intensity voluntary exercise as soon as this is feasible.