Neuromuscular fatigue induced by an isotonic heavy-resistance loading protocol in knee extensors.

Abstract The main aim of this study was to assess neuromuscular fatigue during a typical high-load, low-repetition loading protocol. Muscle stimulations were used to assess maximum voluntary contraction, resting single- and double-pulse twitch characteristics, and superimposed double-pulse twitch force (used to calculate voluntary activation) before and after an acute knee extension loading protocol. In our participants, who had previous resistance training experience, the mean voluntary activation level was 96.2% in an unfatigued state. Maximum voluntary contraction (−11.8%), resting double-pulse twitch force (−10.6%), and voluntary activation (−2.1%) were markedly decreased as a consequen…

Achilles tendon length changes during walking in long-term diabetes patients

Diabetes leads to numerous side effects, including an increased density of collagen fibrils and thickening of the Achilles tendon. This may increase tissue stiffness and could affect stretch distribution between muscle and tendinous tissues during walking. The primary aim of this study was to examine stretch distribution between muscle and tendinous tissues in the medial gastrocnemius muscle-tendon unit in long-term diabetes patients and control subjects during walking.Achilles tendon length changes were investigated in 13 non-neuropathic diabetes patients and 12 controls, whilst walking at a self selected speed across a 10 m force platform. Electromyographic activity was recorded in the me…

99 Muscle-tendon Properties During Recovery From Complete Achilles Tendon Rupture – A Case Study

Introduction Achilles tendon is the most common tendon to suffer for complete rupture. Physically active young adults are often treated with surgery. Most of the patients do not suffer from activity limitations after injury 3 but performance level is often significantly decreased. 1,2 The purpose of this study was to follow recovery of Achilles tendon and triceps surae muscles after complete Achilles tendon rupture and subsequent surgery. This study served as a pilot phase for future research project. Methods Three subjects were recruited to this pilot phase of the study. Subjects were first time measured 2 to 8 months after injury and followed 6 to 8 months. Plantarflexion strength was mea…

Fyysisen rasituksen akuutit vaikutukset lyhyen latenssiajan venytysrefleksiin erilaisilla lihashistorioilla

Neural Compensation Within the Human Triceps Surae During Prolonged Walking

During human walking, muscle activation strategies are approximately constant across consecutive steps over a short time, but it is unknown whether they are maintained over a longer duration. Prolonged walking may increase tendinous tissue (TT) compliance, which can influence neural activation, but the neural responses of individual muscles have not been investigated. This study investigated the hypothesis that muscle activity is up- or down-regulated in individual triceps surae muscles during prolonged walking. Thirteen healthy subjects walked on a treadmill for 60 min at 4.5 km/h, while triceps surae muscle activity, maximal muscle compound action potentials, and kinematics were recorded…

Physical activity on days with and without soccer practice in 12-13-year-old boys

Introduction: Majority of children are unable to meet the recommended 60min of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Even participation into organized sport may not guarantee that recommended amount of activity is reached. Objectives: Purpose of this study was to examine the amount and intensity of physical activity (PA) on days with and without practices and to find out whether daytime PA preceding soccer practice is associated with certain practice-time PA intensity level. Methods: Daily light, moderate and vigorous PA of 18 boys between 12 and 13 years of age engaged in soccer was measured for 9 days with and without soccer practices with wrist-worn Polar A300 activity met…

Viewpoint: On the hysteresis in the human Achilles tendon

Differences in contractile behaviour between the soleus and medial gastrocnemius muscles during human walking

The functional roles of individual lower limb muscles during human walking may differ depending on walking speed or duration. In this study, 11 volunteers walked on a treadmill for 60 min at speeds corresponding to both optimal and 20% above optimal energetic cost of transport whilst oxygen consumption and medial gastrocnemius (MG) and soleus fascicle lengths were measured. Although energetic cost of transport was ∼12% higher at the faster speed, it remained constant over 60 min at both speeds, suggesting that humans can walk for prolonged periods at a range of speeds without compromising energetic efficiency. The fascicles of both muscles exhibited rather ‘isometric’ behaviour during the e…

Triceps surae muscle-tendon properties in older endurance- and sprint-trained athletes

Previous studies have shown that aging is associated with alterations in muscle architecture and tendon properties (Morse CI, Thom JM, Birch KM, Narici MV. Acta Physiol Scand 183: 291–298, 2005; Narici MV, Maganaris CN, Reeves ND, Capodaglio P. J Appl Physiol 95: 2229–2234, 2003; Stenroth L, Peltonen J, Cronin NJ, Sipila S, Finni T. J Appl Physiol 113: 1537–1544, 2012). However, the possible influence of different types of regular exercise loading on muscle architecture and tendon properties in older adults is poorly understood. To address this, triceps surae muscle-tendon properties were examined in older male endurance (OE, n = 10, age = 74.0 ± 2.8 yr) and sprint runners (OS, n = 10, age…

Exercise-induced changes in tendinous tissue compliance: Outer tendon or aponeurosis?

Viscoelastic properties of the Achilles tendon in vivo

It has been postulated that human tendons are viscoelastic and their mechanical properties time-dependent. Although Achilles tendon (AT) mechanics are widely reported, there is no consensus about AT viscoelastic properties such as loading rate dependency or hysteresis, in vivo. AT force-elongation characteristics were determined from 14 subjects in an ankle dynamometer at different loading rates using motion capture assisted ultrasonography. AT stiffness and elongation were determined between 10 – 80% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force at fast and slow loading rates. As subjects were unable to consistently match the target unloading rate in the slow condition, AT hysteresis was on…

Comparison of impact characteristics of four different ice hockey arena dasher boards

During recent years the incidence of ice hockey related concussions has increased. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to determine how dasher board materials and structures affect impact characteristics and thereby concussion risk. The measurements were divided into two parts; 1. physiological characteristics of body checks were determined in real game measurements, and 2. simulation of body checks in the laboratory. Peak forces and stopping distances were determined from the high-speed camera data, and stiffness values were subsequently calculated. Dasher board materials and structures had a clear effect on impact characteristics. Flexible protective shielding material resulted in 1…

The effect of paired associative stimulation on fatigue resistance

Paired associative stimulation (PAS) is a non-invasive stimulation method developed to induce bidirectional changes in the excitability of the cortical projections to the target muscles. However, very few studies have shown an association between changes in motor evoked potentials (MEP) after PAS and behavioral changes in healthy subjects. In the present study we hypothesized that the functional relevance of PAS can be seen during fatiguing exercise, since there is always a central contribution to the development of fatigue. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied over the motor cortex to measure changes in the MEPs of the soleus muscle before and after PAS. Furthermore, fatigue resis…

In vivo mechanical response of human Achilles tendon to a single bout of hopping exercise

SUMMARY Stiffness of the human Achilles tendon (AT) was determined in vivo before and after a single bout of hopping exercise. It was hypothesized, based on published data using in vitro specimens, that a reduction in AT stiffness may occur after just 1000 loading cycles at physiological stress levels. Ten healthy subjects performed two-legged hopping exercise consisting of 1150–2600 high impacts. Tendon stiffness was determined in several isometric ramp contractions [20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC)] during which tendon elongation was measured using ultrasonography and two cameras. Tendon force was calculated by dividing measured ankle torque by magnetic reso…

Age-related differences in Achilles tendon properties and triceps surae muscle architecture in vivo

This study examined the concurrent age-related differences in muscle and tendon structure and properties. Achilles tendon morphology and mechanical properties and triceps surae muscle architecture were measured from 100 subjects [33 young (24 ± 2 yr) and 67 old (75 ± 3 yr)]. Motion analysis-assisted ultrasonography was used to determine tendon stiffness, Young's modulus, and hysteresis during isometric ramp contractions. Ultrasonography was used to measure muscle architectural features and size and tendon cross-sectional area. Older participants had 17% lower ( P < 0.01) Achilles tendon stiffness and 32% lower ( P < 0.001) Young's modulus than young participants. Tendon cross-section…

Effect of time-of-day-specific strength training on maximum strength and EMG activity of the leg extensors in men.

In this study, we examined the effects of time-of-day-specific strength training on maximum strength and electromyography (EMG) of the knee extensors in men. After a 10-week preparatory training period (training times 17:00-19:00 h), 27 participants were randomized into a morning (07:00-09:00 h, n = 14) and an evening group (17:00-19.00 h, n = 13). Both groups then underwent 10 weeks of time-of-day-specific training. A matched control group (n = 7) completed all testing but did not train. Unilateral isometric knee extension peak torque (MVC) and one-repetition maximum half-squat were assessed before and after the preparatory training and after the time-of-day-specific training at times that…

Achilles tendon viscoelastic properties and mechanical responses to a single bout of exercise

Achilles tendon stiffness is unchanged one hour after a marathon

Overuse-induced injuries have been proposed as a predisposing factor for Achilles tendon (AT) ruptures. If tendons can be overloaded, their mechanical properties should change during exercise. Because there data are lacking on the effects of a single bout of long-lasting exercise on AT mechanical properties, the present study measured AT stiffness before and after a marathon. AT stiffness was determined as the slope of the force–elongation curve between 10 and 80% of maximum voluntary force. AT force–elongation characteristics were measured in an ankle dynamometer using simultaneous motion-capture-assisted ultrasonography. Oxygen consumption and ankle kinematics were also measured on a trea…

Muscle fascicle stretch velocity in relation to stretch reflex activation at different contraction levels in human triceps surae

Viewpoint: On the hysteresis in the human Achilles tendon.

This viewpoint was stimulated by two observations: 1) the statistical skewness whereby numerous articles have reported tendon stiffness and Young9s modulus, but far fewer have reported tendon hysteresis; 2) in vivo human studies seem very often to report hysteresis values greater than 10%, suggesting either that there are methodological differences between human and animal studies, or that human tendons have a much poorer capacity to store and reutilize elastic energy. In this article we focus on the healthy human Achilles/gastrocnemius tendon (AT) since it has an important locomotor function and clearly a low AT hysteresis would allow elastic recoil for efficient locomotion. We discuss tha…