Search results for "Muscle Contraction"
showing 10 items of 569 documents
Assessment of the reliability of central and peripheral fatigue after sustained maximal voluntary contraction of the quadriceps muscle
2007
The aim of the present study was to further confirm the validity of measurements for characterizing neuromuscular alterations by establishing their reliability both before and after fatigue. Thirteen men (28 5 years) volunteered to participate in two separate identical sessions requir- ing the performance of a sustained maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) with the quadriceps muscle for 2 min. MVC and transcutaneous electrical stimulations were used before and immediately after the fatiguing contrac- tion to investigate the reliability of MVC torque, central activation, and peripheral variables (M-wave properties, peak twitch, peak doublet) within and between sessions. Based on previous and …
Changes in neuromuscular function after tasks involving control of EMG versus torque feedback of the same duration.
2006
This study was designed to compare alterations in neuromuscular function after two tasks of similar duration involving the control of (1) torque level fixed at 40% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque (torque task) and (2) EMG level when exerting 40% MVC torque on the knee extensor muscles. Ten healthy subjects volunteered to participate in two testing sessions separated by approximately 2 h. Contraction duration for the EMG task was fixed for each subject to the time to task failure of the torque task (104+/-20s). MVC, maximal voluntary activation level, muscle compound action potential (M-wave), peak twitch and potentiated peak doublet were assessed before and immediately after each…
Achilles tendon stiffness is unchanged one hour after a marathon
2012
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…
Effects of Rapid Weight Reduction on Force Production and Vertical Jumping Height
1987
The effects of three weight reduction methods on maximal strength, rate of force development, vertical jumping height, and mechanical power were studied in track and field athletes and volleyball players. The three methods were sauna, diet with diuretic, and diuretic alone. The reductions in weight achieved were 3.4%, 5.8%, and 3.8% of body weight after sauna, diet + diuretic, and diuretic, respectively (P less than 0.001). Maximal isometric leg strength and the rate of isometric force development were decreased after the sauna and diet + diuretic treatments. Dehydration caused by the diuretic method alone did not impair neuromuscular performances. As had been expected from theoretical calc…
EMG frequency spectrum, muscle structure, and fatigue during dynamic contractions in man
1979
Fatigue of the vastus lateralis muscle was studied in healthy well-conditioned students, who differed considerable regarding their muscle fibre type distribution. Muscle force decline during repeated maximum voluntary knee extensions at a constant angular velocity (180 degree X s-1 or rad X s-1), using isokinetic equipment, was taken as the criterion for the degree of fatigue. In an attempt to study quantitative as well as qualitative changes in the EMG pattern, integrated EMG (IEMG) and the frequency of the mean power (MPF), computed from the power spectral density function (PSDF), were analysed. It was found that individuals with muscles made up of a high proportion of fast twitch (FT) mu…
Continuous, bilateral Achilles' tendon vibration is not detrimental to human walk.
2001
Sensory feedback from the moving limbs contributes to the regulation of animal and human locomotion. However, the question of the specific role of the various modalities is still open. Further, functional loss of leg afferent fibres due to peripheral neuropathy does not always lead to major alteration in the gait pattern. In order to gain further insight on proprioceptive control of human gait, we applied vibratory tendon stimulation, known to recruit spindle primary afferent fibres, to both triceps surae muscles during normal floor walk. This procedure would disturb organisation and execution of walking, especially if spindles fire continuously and subjects are blindfolded. Vibration induc…
Plasma catecholamine responses and neural adaptation during short-term resistance training
2000
Low exercise-induced plasma adrenaline (A) responses have been reported in resistance-trained indi- viduals. In the study reported here, we investigated the interaction between strength gain and neural adaptation of the muscles, and the plasma A response in eight healthy men during a short-term resistance-training period. The subjects performed 5 resistance exercises (E1-E5), consisting of 6 sets of 12 bilateral leg exten- sions performed at a 50% load, and with 2 days rest in between. Average electromyographic (EMG) signal amplitude was recorded before and after the exercises, from the knee extensor muscles in isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) as well as during the exercises (a…
The Effects of a Prolonged Running Exercise on Strength Characteristics
2000
The aim of this study was to examine concentric, isometric, and eccentric strength reductions in the quadriceps muscle following a prolonged running exercise. Before and after a 2 h run (28.4+/-1.4 km) peak torque (PT) of the knee extensors at angular velocities of -120, -90, -60, 0, 60, 120, 180, 240 degrees x s(-1) using an isokinetic dynamometer, electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus lateralis (VL) and vastus medialis (VM) muscles and height of a counter movement jump were recorded in twelve well-trained triathletes. Counter movement jump performances decreased by 10% and PT values were all significantly lower (p < 0.01) at each angular velocity following the run. The torque los…
Neuromuscular efficiency of the triceps surae in induced and voluntary contractions: morning and evening evaluations.
2004
Variations in force and electromyographic (EMG) activities of skeletal muscles with the time-of-day have been previously described, but not for a postural muscle, submitted to daily postural and locomotor tasks. In this article, mechanical performances, EMGs, and the ratio between these parameters, i.e., the neuromuscular efficiency (NME), were measured on the triceps surae (TS) of eight subjects, two times each day, at 6:00 and 18:00 h. NME was evaluated under different experimental conditions (electrically induced contractions, reflex contractions, maximal and submaximal voluntary isometric contractions, and during a natural movement, a drop jump) to determine whether mechanisms, peripher…
The influence of extra load on the mechanical behavior of skeletal muscle
1984
Eleven international jumpers and throwers engaged in year round training were divided into experimental (n = 6) and control (n = 5) groups. The experimental group was tested before and after a 3 weeks simulated hypergravity period, and again 4 weeks after the hypergravity period. The high gravity condition was created by wearing a vest weighing about 13% of the subjects body weight. The vest was worn from morning to evening including the training sessions, and only removed during sleep. The daily training of all subjects consisted of classical weight training and jumping drills. No changes in the ordinary training program were allowed in the experimental group, except for the use of the ves…