These papers will cover the potential to use muscle stimulation to induce stimulation in the bone. Most of the papers will not address longitudinal growth directly but they will cover additional ways to stimulate the bone which possibly could stimulate length growth. Could occlusion bands be helpful in increasing intramedullary pressure in the bone?
Dynamic skeletal muscle stimulation and its potential in bone adaptation
“Intramedullary pressure (ImP) and low-level bone strain [is] induced by muscle stimulation (MS)”
“Because bone is biomechanically linked to muscle and bones adapt to their mechanical environment, which includes muscle forces during development, it is assumed that muscle and bone grow in proportion to one another.”<-Why then would bodybuilders not get taller? Presumably because they are not stimulating the muscle in the right way.
“Pressure waves from muscle pump contractions, aided by increased blood pressure during exercise and coupled with temporary occlusion of arteries and veins leading to and from bone, increase hydraulic pressure in cortical bone capillaries, thus amplifying capillary filtration”<-Although capillary filtration is not going to make you taller after skeletal maturity. It could make you taller pre-maturity by increasing growth plate nutrition.
“The results of paired comparisons, involving experimental and control tibia, showed an increase in venous pressure, and an increase in periosteal new bone formation on the side of increased venous pressure.”
“Two disposable needle-sized electrodes were inserted into the quadriceps, about ~5 mm anterior to the femur. The electrodes were then connected to a 100MHz arbitrary waveform generator which applied MS at various frequencies (1, 2.5, 5, 10, 15 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 Hz) to induce MS. Stimulation was induced at 2V with 1ms square pulse for one second, followed by a rest of 4 seconds. Three signals (ImP, bone strain, load feedback) were collected simultaneously using a strain gauge amplifier with a 160 Hz low-pass filter and A/D conversion at 1000 Hz with 16-bit resolution.”
“Normal heart beat generated approximately 5 mmHg of ImP in the femur at a frequency of 5.37±0.35 Hz. The ImP value (peak-peak) was increased significantly by dynamic MS at 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 40 Hz. The response trend of the ImP against frequency was nonlinear; the ImP reached a maximum value of 45±9.3 mmHg (peak-peak) at 20 Hz, although there was no significant difference between 10, 20, and 30 Hz. The MS generated ImP in the marrow cavity with values of 17.4±6.2, 24±5.4, 37.5±11.0, 26.3±11.1, and 3.7±1.5 mmHg at frequencies of 1, 5, 10, 40, and 100 Hz, respectively.”
“These results suggest that muscle force alone, if applied at a low rate, such as resistant weigh lifting with high intensity, would not be able to generate sufficient strain and fluid pressure in bone. [Muscular stimulation] with relatively high rate and small magnitude, however, can trigger significant fluid pressure in the skeleton.”<-So this could be why bodybuilders do not grow taller. So you would perhaps do bicep curls very rapidly with low weights? Although it is likely that some weightlifters do this, it is not nearly as novel to do this as it is to do lateral loads.
“Both ImP and matrix strain have indicated a nonlinear response in the MS spectrum between 1 Hz and 100 Hz, though peaked differently at 20 Hz (ImP) and 10 Hz (strain).” Hz is cycles per second so theoretically you’d have to 20 bicep curls a second? It’d be much easier to charge the muscle with Electrical Muscle Stimulation at that rate.
But it’s not necessarily the exercise that effects strain cycles per second. And throughout the exercise different muscles can get used. I don’t know if you can make a direct correlation between reps and frequency. You’d have to do a study per exercise. I think rapid, limited range of motion exercise would be the best way to stimulate high frequency.