ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Disability, Rehabilitation, and Inclusion
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fresc.2025.1559077
This article is part of the Research TopicBridging the Gap: Integrating Performance-Based Measures and Person-Reported Outcomes in Disability EvaluationView all 3 articles
Safety and Efficacy of Belt-Type Electrical Stimulation for Preventing Disuse Syndrome in Elderly Hemodialysis Patients: A Pilot Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology, Tsukuba, Japan
- 2Kitakashiwa Rehabilitation General Hospital, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
- 3Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
- 4Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
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Background: Elderly hemodialysis (HD) patients frequently experience reduced physical activity due to treatment-related immobility and fatigue, leading to accelerated functional decline. While exercise therapy is beneficial, adherence remains challenging among frail elderly patients. Belt-type electrical stimulation (B-SES) presents a potential alternative, though evidence for its safety and efficacy in this population is limited. Methods: In this 12-week prospective intervention study, eight frail maintenance HD patients (mean age 75.5±0.9 years) received B-SES therapy during HD sessions. Outcomes were assessed through physical function measures, biochemical markers, quality of life indices, and body composition analysis using multiple imaging modalities (BIA, CT, ¹H-MRS). Results: Five participants completed the intervention, with three withdrawals unrelated to the treatment. Physical function measures showed a trend toward improvement without elevation in inflammatory markers. While BIA showed no significant changes in muscle mass, CT analysis revealed increased thigh muscle cross-sectional area, and ¹H-MRS indicated improvements in intramuscular fat composition. A significant correlation emerged between reduced intramyocellular lipids and improved physical performance measures (p<0.05). Conclusion: B-SES demonstrated safety and potential efficacy in improving physical function and muscle quality among frail elderly HD patients. From a public health perspective, B-SES may serve as a feasible and accessible intervention for this population, particularly in resource-limited settings. However, further studies are needed to determine its cost-effectiveness in comparison with conventional exercise therapy.
Keywords: elderly hemodialysis patients, belt-type electrical stimulation, Safety, physical function, Body Composition, skeletal muscle mass hemodialysis, Elderly, Electrical Stimulation
Received: 11 Jan 2025; Accepted: 25 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Miura, Oowada, Ito and Kohzuki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Misa Miura, National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology, Tsukuba, Japan
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