Jumping Height Does Not Increase in Well Trained Volleyball Players After Transcutaneous Spinal Direct Current Stimulation

Łukasz Jadczak; Andrzej Wieczorek; Marcin Grześkowiak; Jacek Wieczorek; Dawid Łochyński

doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.01479

Jumping Height Does Not Increase in Well Trained Volleyball Players After Transcutaneous Spinal Direct Current Stimulation

Front Physiol. 2019 Dec 4:10:1479. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01479. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Łukasz Jadczak¹, Andrzej Wieczorek¹, Marcin Grześkowiak², Jacek Wieczorek³, Dawid Łochyński⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Theory and Methodology of Team Sport Games, Poznań University of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland.
² Department of Pulmonological and Rheumatological Rehabilitation, Poznań University of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland.
³ Department of Sport for Disabilities, Poznań University of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland.
⁴ Department of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, Poznań University of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland.

Abstract

Transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) increases corticospinal and spinal reflex excitability, and may be a new tool for increasing muscle explosive performance in sports training. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether tsDCS can enhance jumping ability in trained humans practicing volleyball. Twenty eight participants completed the study, including 21 men and 7 women. We investigated the effects of a single 15-minute session of sham, anodal, and cathodal tsDCS over spine and shoulder on repeated counter movement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) performance at 0, 30 and 60 min post-stimulation. The order of SJs and CMJs sets in each session was randomized. Each SJ and CMJ set consisted of 3 jumps. The break between each attempt was 1 min and the interval between the sets was 3 min. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA did not show effect of time, nor stimulation method, nor stimulation method × time interactions on SJ (time: F ₍ ₁ _. ₈,₁₄₂ _. ₁ ₎ = 1.054; p = 0.346, stimulation: F ₍ ₂,₇₈ ₎ = 0.019; p = 0.981, stimulation × time: F ₍ ₃ _. ₆,₁₄₂ _. ₁ ₎ = 0.725; p = 0.564) or CMJ (time: F ₍ ₁ _. ₈,₁₄₀ _. ₉ ₎ = 2.092; p = 0.132, stimulation: F ₍ ₂,₇₈ ₎ = 0.005; p = 0.995, stimulation × time: F ₍ ₃ _. ₆,₁₄₀ _. ₉ ₎ = 0.517; p = 0.705) performance. Single session of tsDCS over spine and shoulder does not increase jumping height in well-trained volleyball players. This is an important finding for coaches and strength conditioning professionals for understanding the practical utility of tsDCS for enhancing muscular explosiveness.

Keywords: countermovement jump height; jumping ability; neuromodulation; spinal cord; spinal cord stimulation; squat jump.