Influence of synchronous and sequential stimulation on muscle fatigue

In acute experiments the sciatic nerve of the rat is electrically stimulated to induce fatigue in the medial Gastrocnemius muscle. Fatigue tests are carried out using intermittent stimulation of different compartments (sequential) or a single compartment (synchronous) of the sciatic nerve. The activation of different compartments is achieved by dividing nerve fibres into subbundles and placing them in separate grooves in a multigroove electrode. The aim of the investigation is to quantify the effect of sequential contra synchronised stimulation in reducing muscle fatigue, with no overlap between compartments. Overlap between two compartments is calculated using the combined and individual forces from both compartments. Sequential stimulation of two and three compartments is investigated. There is a significant decrease of fatigue in sequential stimulation compared to synchronous. After 2 min of intermittent stimulation the force time level is significantly increased in sequential stimulation, than in synchronous stimulation. The rate of force time decrease is significantly slower in sequential stimulation than in synchronous stimulation. With sequential stimulation it takes significantly longer before the maximal force time is reached than with synchronous stimulation.