Neural activation after maximal isometric contractions at different muscle lengths.
DESBROSSES K., N. BABAULT, G. SCAGLIONI, J.-P. MEYER, and M. POUSSON. Neural Activation after Maximal Isometric Contractions at Different Muscle Lengths. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 937–944, 2006. Purpose: To investigate i) whether neural activation dependence on muscle length is preserved with neuromuscular fatigue and ii) whether fatigue induced by a maximal isometric exercise is muscle length dependent. Methods: Twelve male subjects performed two fatiguing quadriceps muscle exercises: FS is the fatigue carried out at short muscle length (S) (S = 40- of knee flexion) and FL is the fatigue at long muscle length (L) (L = 100-). Before and after each fatiguing exercise (i.e.…
Acute effects of 15min static or contract-relax stretching modalities on plantar flexors neuromuscular properties
The present study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of 15 min static or sub-maximal contract-relax stretching modalities on the neuromuscular properties of plantar flexor muscles. Ten male volunteers were tested before and immediately after 15 min static or contract-relax stretching programs of plantar flexor muscles (20 stretches). Static stretching consisted in 30s stretches to the point of discomfort. For the contract-relax stretching modality, subjects performed 6s sub-maximal isometric plantar flexion before 24s static stretches. Measurements included maximal voluntary isometric torque (MVT) and the corresponding electromyographic activity of soleus (SOL) and medial gastrocnem…
Reliability of knee extension and flexion measurements using the Con-Trex isokinetic dynamometer.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of isokinetic and isometric assessments of the knee extensor and the flexor muscle function using the Con-Trex isokinetic dynamometer. Thirty healthy subjects (15 males, 15 females) were tested and retested 7 days later for maximal strength (isokinetic peak torque, work, power and angle of peak torque as well as isometric maximal voluntary contraction torque and rate of torque development) and fatigue (per cent loss and linear slope of torque and work across a series of 20 contractions). For both the knee extensor and the flexor muscle groups, all strength data - except angle of peak torque - demonstrated moderate-to-high reliability, wi…