Effects of isometric training on the elasticity of human tendon structures in vivo

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keitaro Kubo ◽  
Hiroaki Kanehisa ◽  
Masamitsu Ito ◽  
Tetsuo Fukunaga
Keyword(s):  
Vastus Lateralis ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Vastus Lateralis Muscle ◽  
Electromechanical Delay ◽  
Isometric Training ◽  
Rate Of Torque Development ◽  
Human Tendon ◽  
Torque Development

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of isometric training on the elasticity of human tendon structures. Eight subjects completed 12 wk (4 days/wk) of isometric training that consisted of unilateral knee extension at 70% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) for 20 s per set (4 sets/day). Before and after training, the elongation of the tendon structures in the vastus lateralis muscle was directly measured using ultrasonography while the subjects performed ramp isometric knee extension up to MVC. The relationship between the estimated muscle force and tendon elongation ( L) was fitted to a linear regression, the slope of which was defined as stiffness of the tendon structures. The training increased significantly the volume (7.6±4.3%) and MVC torque (33.9±14.4%) of quadriceps femoris muscle. The L values at force production levels beyond 550 N were significantly shorter after training. The stiffness increased significantly from 67.5±21.3 to 106.2±33.4 N/mm. Furthermore, the training significantly increased the rate of torque development (35.8 ± 20.4%) and decreased electromechanical delay (−18.4±3.8%). Thus the present results indicate that isometric training increases the stiffness and Young's modulus of human tendon structures as well as muscle strength and size. This change in the tendon structures would be assumed to be an advantage for increasing the rate of torque development and shortening the electromechanical delay.

In vivo estimation of contraction velocity of human vastus lateralis muscle during “isokinetic” action

2000 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 851-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Ichinose ◽  
Y. Kawakami ◽  
M. Ito ◽  
H. Kanehisa ◽  
T. Fukunaga
Keyword(s):  
Angular Velocity ◽  
Vastus Lateralis ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Vastus Lateralis Muscle ◽  
Shortening Velocity ◽  
Full Extension ◽  
Fascicle Length ◽  
Lateralis Muscle ◽  
Angular Velocities

To determine the shortening velocities of fascicles of the vastus lateralis muscle (VL) during isokinetic knee extension, six male subjects were requested to extend the knee with maximal effort at angular velocities of 30 and 150°/s. By using an ultrasonic apparatus, longitudinal images of the VL were produced every 30 ms during knee extension, and the fascicle length and angle of pennation were obtained from these images. The shortening fascicle length with extension of the knee (from 98 to 13° of knee angle; full extension = 0°) was greater (43 mm) at 30°/s than at 150°/s (35 mm). Even when the angular velocity remained constant during the isokinetic range of motion, the fascicle velocity was found to change from 39 to 77 mm/s at 150°/s and from 6 to 19 mm/s at 30°/s. The force exerted by a fascicle changed with the length of the fascicle at changing angular velocities. The peak values of fascicle force and velocity were observed at ∼90 mm of fascicle length. In conclusion, even if the angular velocity of knee extension is kept constant, the shortening velocity of a fascicle is dependent on the force applied to the muscle-tendon complex, and the phenomenon is considered to be caused mainly by the elongation of the elastic element (tendinous tissue).

Influences of repetitive muscle contractions with different modes on tendon elasticity in vivo

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 277-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keitaro Kubo ◽  
Hiroaki Kanehisa ◽  
Yasuo Kawakami ◽  
Tetsuo Fukunaga
Keyword(s):  
Vastus Lateralis ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Muscle Contractions ◽  
Vastus Lateralis Muscle ◽  
Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contraction ◽  
Duration Of Action ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Endurance Tests

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of repetitive muscle contractions on the elasticity of human tendon structures in vivo. Before and after each endurance test, the elongation of the tendon and aponeurosis of vastus lateralis muscle ( L) was directly measured by ultrasonography while the subjects performed ramp isometric knee extension up to maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC). Six male subjects performed muscle endurance tests that consisted of knee extension tasks with four different contraction modes: 1) 50 repetitions of maximal voluntary eccentric action for 3 s with 3 s of relaxation (ET1), 2) three sets of 50 repetitions of MVC for 1 s with 3 s of relaxation (ET2), 3) 50 repetitions of MVC for 3 s with 3 s of relaxation (ET3), and 4) 50 repetitions of 50% MVC for 6 s with 6 s of relaxation (ET4). In ET1 and ET2, there were no significant differences in L values at any force production levels between before and after endurance tests. In the cases of ET3 and ET4, however, the extent of elongation after the completion of the tests tended to be greater. The L values above 330 N in ET3 and 440 N in ET4, respectively, were significantly greater after endurance tests than before. These results suggested that the repeated longer duration contractions would make the tendon structures more compliant and that the changes in the elasticity might be not be affected by either muscle action mode or force production level but by the duration of action.

Effects of Concentric and Eccentric Strength Training on Fatigue Induced by Concentric and Eccentric Exercises

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Lusa Cadore ◽  
Miriam González-Izal ◽  
Rafael Grazioli ◽  
Igor Setuain ◽  
Ronei Silveira Pinto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Maximal Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Isometric Force ◽  
Vastus Lateralis ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Eccentric Training ◽  
Echo Intensity ◽  
Rate Of Torque Development ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Torque Development ◽  
Similar Force

Purpose: To compare the concentric and eccentric training effects on fatigue induced by eccentric and concentric protocols. Methods: A total of 22 men and women (22 [3.6] y) were assigned to concentric (GCON, n = 11) or eccentric training (GECC, n = 11). The concentric (CON) and eccentric (ECC) protocols were composed of 4 sets of 20 knee-extension/flexion repetitions. Force losses were analyzed by comparing 10 repetitions’ mean torques during the protocols and by verifying the maximal voluntary contraction and rate of torque development before and after the protocols. Muscle damage was assessed using echo intensity of the vastus lateralis 48 h after the protocols. Training consisted of 6 wk of isokinetic exercise at 60°/s (concentric or eccentric) twice weekly. Results: Before training, both protocols resulted in dynamic and isometric force losses in GCON and GECC (P < .01), but the magnitude was greater after the CON protocol than after the ECC protocol (P < .001). After training, both GCON and GECC showed similar force decreases during the CON and ECC protocols (P < .01), and these changes were not different from the pretraining decreases. Regarding maximal voluntary contraction after training, GECC showed lower force decreases than GCON after ECC exercise (−13.7% vs −22.3%, respectively, P < .05), whereas GCON showed lower maximal voluntary contraction decreases after CON exercise compared with pretraining (−29.2%, P < .05). Losses in rate of torque development were similar after the protocols before and after the training regimens. No changes in echo intensity were observed after the protocols before and after training. Conclusion: Both interventions resulted in similar force decreases during fatigue protocols compared with those associated with pretraining.

Longer Integration Intervals Reduce Variability and Improve Reliability of EMG Derived from Maximal Isometric Exertions

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter F. Vint ◽  
Richard N. Hinrichs
Keyword(s):  
Vastus Lateralis ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Vastus Lateralis Muscle ◽  
Electromechanical Delay ◽  
Integration Interval ◽  
Isometric Knee Extension ◽  
Extension Force ◽  
Maximum Effort ◽  
Integrated Emg ◽  
Force Relationship

Isometric knee extension force and average integrated EMG of the vastus lateralis muscle were obtained from 27 healthy subjects using a maximum effort, ramp and hold protocol. In each of the 125 total trials mat were included in the analysis, a 2-s plateau region was extracted and divided into two adjacent 1000-ms bins. Variability and reliability of bin-to-bin measurements of force and EMG were then evaluated across 14 different integration intervals ranging from 10 to 1000 ms. Statistical analyses of bin-to-bin variability measures demonstrated that integration intervals of 250 ms and longer significantly reduced variability and improved reliability of average integrated EMG values during maximum effort isometric exertions. Bin-to-bin EMG reliability increased from .728 at 10 ms to .991 at 1000 ms. Force parameters appeared less sensitive to changes in length of the integration interval. It was suggested that longer intervals might also improve the validity of the EMG-force relationship during maximum effort isometric exertions by reducing problems associated with electromechanical delay.

Influence of elastic properties of tendon structures on jump performance in humans

1999 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 2090-2096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keitaro Kubo ◽  
Yasuo Kawakami ◽  
Tetsuo Fukunaga
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Properties ◽  
Vastus Lateralis ◽  
Vertical Jump ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Favorable Effect ◽  
Vastus Lateralis Muscle ◽  
Jump Height ◽  
Jump Performance ◽  
Significant Difference

The purpose of this study was to quantify the elastic properties of tendon structures in vivo and to investigate the influence of the tendon properties on jump performance with and without countermovement. Elongation of the tendon and aponeurosis of vastus lateralis muscle (d L) was directly measured by ultrasonography while subjects ( n = 31) performed ramp isometric knee extension up to the voluntary maximum (MVC). The relationship between muscle force and d L was fitted to a linear regression above 50% MVC, the slope of which was defined as stiffness of the tendon structures. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between duplicated measurements of stiffness, with an interday reliability of r = 0.88 and a coefficient of variance of 6.1%. Although the stiffness was not significantly related to absolute jump height in either vertical jump, it was inversely correlated with the difference in jump height between the vertical jumps performed with and without countermovement. The results suggested that the stiffness of tendon structures has a favorable effect on stretch-shortening cycle exercise, possibly due to adequate storage and recoil of elastic energy.

Determination of fascicle length and pennation in a contracting human muscle in vivo

1997 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 354-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuo Fukunaga ◽  
Yoshiho Ichinose ◽  
Masamitsu Ito ◽  
Yasuo Kawakami ◽  
Senshi Fukashiro
Keyword(s):  
Vastus Lateralis ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Human Muscle ◽  
Vastus Lateralis Muscle ◽  
Full Extension ◽  
Fascicle Length ◽  
Submaximal Contraction ◽  
Static Contractions

Fukunaga, Tetsuo, Yoshiho Ichinose, Masamitsu Ito, Yasuo Kawakami, and Senshi Fukashiro. Determination of fascicle length and pennation in a contracting human muscle in vivo. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(1): 354–358, 1997.—We have developed a technique to determine fascicle length in human vastus lateralis muscle in vivo by using ultrasonography. When the subjects had the knee fully extended passively from a position of 110° flexion (relaxed condition), the fascicle length decreased from 133 to 97 mm on average. During static contractions at 10% of maximal voluntary contraction strength (tensed condition), fascicle shortening was more pronounced (from 126 to 67 mm), especially when the knee was closer to full extension. Similarly, as the knee was extended, the angle of pennation (fascicle angle, defined as the angle between fascicles and aponeurosis) increased (relaxed, from 14 to 18°; tensed, from 14 to 21°), and a greater increase in the pennation angle was observed in the tensed than in the relaxed condition when the knee was close to extension (<40°). We conclude that there are differences in fascicle lengths and pennation angles when the muscle is in a relaxed and isometrically tensed conditions and that the differences are affected by joint angles, at least at the submaximal contraction level.

The influence of preceding activity and muscle length on voluntary and electrically evoked contractions

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew I.B. Debenham ◽  
Geoffrey A. Power
Keyword(s):  
Protective Effect ◽  
Maximal Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Electromechanical Delay ◽  
Rate Of Torque Development ◽  
Electrically Evoked Contractions ◽  
Evoked Contractions ◽  
Torque Development

Muscle length and preceding activity independently influence rate of torque development (RTD) and electromechanical delay (EMD), but it is unclear whether these parameters interact to optimize RTD and EMD. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of muscle length and preceding activity on RTD and EMD during voluntary and electrically stimulated (e-stim) contractions. Participants (n = 17, males, 24 ± 3 years) performed isometric knee extensions on a dynamometer. Explosive maximal contractions were performed at 2 knee angles (35° and 100° referenced to a 0° straight leg) without preceding activity (unloaded, UNL) and with preceding activities of 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque. Absolute and normalized voluntary RTD were slowed with preceding activities ≥40% MVC for long muscle lengths and all preceding activities for short muscle lengths compared with UNL (p < 0.001). Absolute and normalized e-stim RTD were slower with preceding activities ≥40% MVC compared with UNL (p < 0.001) for both muscle lengths. Normalized RTD was faster at short muscle lengths than at long muscle lengths (p < 0.001) for e-stim (∼50%) and voluntary (∼32%) UNL contractions, but this effect was not present for absolute RTD. Muscle length did not affect EMD (p > 0.05). EMD was shorter at 80% MVC compared with UNL (∼35%; p < 0.001) for both muscle lengths during voluntary but not e-stim contractions. While RTD is limited by preceding activity at both muscle lengths, long muscle lengths require greater preceding activity to limit RTD than short muscle lengths, which indicates long muscle lengths may offer a “protective effect” for RTD against preceding activity.

Blockade of 5-HT2 receptors suppresses rate of torque development and motor unit discharge rate during rapid contractions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Ian Goodlich ◽  
Sean A Horan ◽  
Justin J Kavanagh
Keyword(s):  
Motor Unit ◽  
Unit Activity ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Unit Discharge ◽  
Motor Unit Activity ◽  
Rate Of Torque Development ◽  
Motor Unit Discharge ◽  
Torque Development

Serotonin (5-HT) is a neuromodulator that is critical for regulating the excitability of spinal motoneurons and the generation of muscle torque. However, the role of 5-HT in modulating human motor unit activity during rapid contractions has yet to be assessed. Nine healthy participants (23.7 ± 2.2 yr) ingested 8 mg of the competitive 5-HT2 antagonist cyproheptadine in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures experiment. Rapid dorsiflexion contractions were performed at 30%, 50% and 70% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), where motor unit activity was assessed by high-density surface electromyographic decomposition. A second protocol was performed where a sustained, fatigue-inducing dorsiflexion contraction was completed prior to undertaking the same 30%, 50% and 70% MVC rapid contractions and motor unit analysis. Motor unit discharge rate (p < 0.001) and rate of torque development (RTD; p = 0.019) for the unfatigued muscle were both significantly lower for the cyproheptadine condition. Following the fatigue inducing contraction, cyproheptadine reduced motor unit discharge rate (p < 0.001) and RTD (p = 0.024), where the effects of cyproheptadine on motor unit discharge rate and RTD increased with increasing contraction intensity. Overall, these results support the viewpoint that serotonergic effects in the central nervous system occur fast enough to regulate motor unit discharge rate during rapid powerful contractions.

Initial phase of maximal voluntary and electrically stimulated knee extension torque development at different knee angles

2004 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 1693-1701 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. de Ruiter ◽  
R. D. Kooistra ◽  
M. I. Paalman ◽  
A. de Haan
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Knee Extensor ◽  
Surface Emg ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Voluntary Activation ◽  
Knee Angle ◽  
Time Integral ◽  
Voluntary Contractions ◽  
Torque Development

We investigated the capacity for torque development and muscle activation at the onset of fast voluntary isometric knee extensions at 30, 60, and 90° knee angle. Experiments were performed in subjects ( n = 7) who had high levels (>90%) of activation at the plateau of maximal voluntary contractions. During maximal electrical nerve stimulation (8 pulses at 300 Hz), the maximal rate of torque development (MRTD) and torque time integral over the first 40 ms (TTI40) changed in proportion with torque at the different knee angles (highest values at 60°). At each knee angle, voluntary MRTD and stimulated MRTD were similar ( P < 0.05), but time to voluntary MRTD was significantly longer. Voluntary TTI40 was independent ( P > 0.05) of knee angle and on average (all subjects and angles) only 40% of stimulated TTI40. However, among subjects, the averaged (across knee angles) values ranged from 10.3 ± 3.1 to 83.3 ± 3.2% and were positively related ( r2 = 0.75, P < 0.05) to the knee-extensor surface EMG at the start of torque development. It was concluded that, although all subjects had high levels of voluntary activation at the plateau of maximal voluntary contraction, among subjects and independent of knee angle, the capacity for fast muscle activation varied substantially. Moreover, in all subjects, torque developed considerably faster during maximal electrical stimulation than during maximal voluntary effort. At different knee angles, stimulated MRTD and TTI40 changed in proportion with stimulated torque, but voluntary MRTD and TTI40 changed less than maximal voluntary torque.

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