Effects Of Microcurrent Therapy With Resistance Exercise Programme On Anxiety In Middle-aged Adults: A Pilot Study

Anxiety is a leading mental health disorder, and it has a big impact on daily quality of life. Regular exercise, particularly resistance training (RT), may improve state and trait anxiety. Microcurrent therapy (MCT) has also shown potential in reducing symptoms of these conditions, but more research is needed. PURPOSE: To explore the effects of adding MCT to a RT programme on anxiety in middle-aged adults. METHODS: Sixteen participants (mean ± SD: age 53.4 ± 8.2 years, BMI 24.8 ± 3.9 kg/m2, height 166.6 ± 10.2 cm) were assigned to either a microcurrent (MCT, n = 9) or a sham (SH, n = 7) group. The participants followed an RT programme with bands, twice a week for six weeks, involving 3 sets x 12-15 reps of 8 exercises: squat with shoulder press, biceps curl, squat, lateral pull down, deadlift, triceps extension, lunge, and upright row. Participants used a microcurrent device (live or sham) on the dominant upper arm for 3 hours post-workout and in the morning on non-training days. The MCT device used an intensity between 50 and 400 μA in a ratio of 2:1 (on:off) and a frequency of 1.03 kHz. All participants filled in a validated anxiety questionnaire before and after the intervention. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in the pre-post state anxiety in the sham (pre = 28.3 ± 9.8 vs post 29.7 ± 7.9, p = 0.560, d = 0.160) and the MCT (pre = 29.6 ± 8.7 vs post 31.9 ± 16.5, p = 0.932, d = 0.180) groups. Trait anxiety levels did not change significantly in both groups (SH pre = 35.4 ± 6.6 vs post 34.7 ± 8.3, p = 0.780, d = 0.100; and MCT pre = 35.9 ± 10.2 vs post 33.0 ± 14.8, p = 0.138, d = 0.230). Nonetheless, considering the low sample size, when the Cohen d value was analysed, more favourable, moderate effects were determined for the MCT group (MCT = -2.89 ± 5.9 vs. SH = -0.71 ± 6.47, d = 0.351) with an average of 10.5% reduction in trait anxiety vs only 1.5% in the SH group (MCT = -10.49 ± 15.81 vs. SH = -1.51 ± 20.72, d = 0.487). CONCLUSIONS: Interventions with larger sample size are needed to fully understand to what extent adding microcurrent to regular exercise could have an impact on anxiety levels in middle-aged adults.