Electrical Muscle Stimulation: An Effective Form of Exercise and Early Mobilization to Preserve Muscle Strength in Critically Ill Patients

Table 2

MRC scores of all the upper and lower extremities’ movements (median (25th–75th percentiles)). 𝑃 values refer to between-group comparisons for each movement.

	EMS group	Control group	𝑃
Left side
Shoulder abduction	4 (4-5)	4 (4-5)	0.41
Forearm flexion	5 (4-5)	4 (4-5)	0.26
Wrist flexion	5 (5-5)	5 (4-5)	0.03
Hip flexion	4 (4-5)	4 (3–5)	0.05
Knee extension	5 (5-5)	4 (3–5)	<0.01
Ankle dorsiflexion	5 (5-5)	5 (4-5)	0.04
Upper extremities (in total)	14 (12–15)	13 (11–15)	0.16
Lower extremities (in total)	14 (13–15)	12 (10–15)	0.02
Right side
Shoulder abduction	4 (4-5)	4 (3–5)	0.36
Forearm flexion	5 (4-5)	4 (4-5)	0.19
Wrist flexion	5 (5-5)	5 (3–5)	0.04
Hip flexion	5 (4-5)	4 (3–5)	0.04
Knee extension	5 (5-5)	4 (3–5)	<0.01
Ankle dorsiflexion	5 (4-5)	5 (4-5)	0.07
Upper extremities (in total)	14 (13–15)	13 (10–15)	0.17
Lower extremities (in total)	15 (13–15)	13 (10–14)	0.02

EMS: electrical muscle stimulation.