Effects of Electronic Muscle Stimulation on Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness in Division 1 Collegiate Athletes

Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) plagues many Division 1 student-athletes due to grueling workouts and practice schedules. Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is commonly utilized in athletic training to reduce the level of muscle soreness in athletes. This project will address the effectiveness of EMS on Division 1 women’s basketball and women’s volleyball athletes in reducing DOMS. The goals of the project are to understand if EMS is an effective treatment strategy for DOMS and test whether muscle soreness levels will decrease after EMS use. There is limited research regarding EMS use on collegiate-level athletes. This experiment will help cover a portion of the gap in research on EMS for DOMS on college athletes. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Sports Medicine will benefit from the results found during this study. They can utilize the information to create strong treatment plans in the future for athletes suffering from DOMS. With little to no research studies published that look at DOMS in college athletes being treated with EMS, a study must be completed. I hypothesize that the women’s basketball and women’s volleyball athletes with Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness will see a decrease in muscle soreness level after 30 minutes of using an Electronic Muscle Stimulation device.