Tonic arterial smooth muscle can produce strong contractions indefinitely by formation of slowly cycling crossbridges (latchbridges) that maintain force at a high energy economy. To fully understand the uniqueness of mechanisms regulating tonic arterial contraction, comparisons have been made to phasic visceral smooth muscles that do not sustain high forces. This study explored mechanisms of force maintenance in a phasic artery by comparing KCl-induced contractions in the tonic, femoral artery (FA) and its primary branch, the phasic saphenous artery (SA). KCl rapidly (5 N/m2) and [ca2+]i (250 nM) in FA and SA. By 10 min, [ca2+]i declined to 175 nM in both tissues but stress was sustained in FA (1.3 x 105N/m2) and reduced by 40% in SA (0.8 x l05 N/m2). Reduced tonic stress correlated with reduced myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation in SA (28% vs. 42% in FA). SA expressed more MLC phosphatase than FA, and permeabilized (β-escin) SA relaxed more rapidly than FA in the presence of MLC kinase blockade, suggesting that MLC phosphatase activity in SA was greater than that in FA. The reduction in MLC phosphorylation in SA was insufficient to account for reduced tonic force (latchbridge model), and SA expressed more "fast" myosin isoforms than did FA. Cytochalasin-D reduced force-maintenance more in FA than SA. These data support the hypothesis that strong force-maintenance is absent in SA because expressed motor proteins do not support latchbridge formation, and because actin polymerization is not stimulated.

The primary purpose of this study was to observe the relationship between muscle activation of the right hand with the force produced at the fingertips in an isometric precision pinch tracking task. Thirty right-handed subjects, 15 males and 15 females, with a mean age 23.5 (SD 3.5) years, free from any neurological disorder or physical ailment, had a pair of electromyography (EMG) electrodes placed over the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle, which acts on the index finger, while performing a pinch force tracking task scaled to 20% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). The tracking task was chosen because it created a continuously increasing force application to 20% MVC and then decreasing force release from 20% MVC at a prescribed rate in both cases of 6.66% MVC force per second. In addition to showing increases in EMG activation of the FDI with increases in force, the results revealed that muscle activation for a given force level was generally greater for force application than for force release. This may be due dynamics of muscle contraction or to patterns of multiple muscle coordination. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-09-15Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:08:48Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 goncalves_r_me_rcla.pdf: 1648455 bytes, checksum: a169bc59e57fd832a6bbe9380247a8a5 (MD5) / O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar o efeito agudo do alongamento estático sobre diferentes parâmetros da curva força-tempo (Cf-t) isométrica e atividade eletromiográfica (EMG) de idosas em exercícios monoarticular e multiarticular. A amostra foi composta por 27 mulheres (65,4 ± 4,3 anos; 69,3 ± 9,0 Kg; 1,57 ± 1,0 m; 28,0 ± 4,0 Kg/m2). A contração voluntária máxima (CVM), taxa de desenvolvimento de força (TDF) (30, 50, 100, 150 e 200 ms relativos ao início da contração muscular) e TDF pico (TDFP) (inclinação mais íngreme da curva nos primeiros 200 ms) foram testadas em dois exercícios (Leg Press ou cadeira extensora) em 2 condições separadas: alongamento (A) (3 séries de 30 segundos para o quadríceps femoral) e controle (C). Em cada dia, apenas uma condição e um tipo de exercício foram testados e a ordem de emprego para cada condição e exercício foram determinadas aleatoriamente. A atividade eletromiográfica dos músculos vasto medial (VM), vasto lateral (VL) e bíceps femoral (BF) também foi avaliada. Quatro avaliações póscondições (imediatamente após; 10; 20 e 30 minutos) foram realizadas para acompanhar o comportamento da força e da atividade muscular. Com exceção da TDF para os 100 ms durante exercício multiarticular, a ANOVA 2x2, seguida do teste post-hoc de Tukey não demonstrou interações condição vs. tempo significativas (p > 0,05) para a CVM, TDFP e TDF nos diferentes períodos de tempo avaliados para exercício monoarticular e multiarticular. Também não foi observada interação condição vs. tempo significativa para a iEMG dos músculos VM, VL e BF durante CVM e TDF nos diferentes períodos de tempo. Não foram observadas interações exercício vs. tempo (p > 0,05) para TDFP e TDF nos diferentes períodos de tempo durante comparação entre exercício monoarticular e multiarticular. Em conclusão séries agudas de alongamento... / The aim of this study was to analyze the acute effects of static stretching on different parameters of the isometric force-time curve (Cf-t) and electromyography activity (EMG) of elderly women during single and multiple joint exercises. Twenty-seven women (65,4 ± 4,3 years old; 69,3 ± 9,0 Kg; 1,57 ± 1,0 m; 28,0 ± 4,0 Kg/m2) were studied. The maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), rate of force development (RFD) (50, 100, 150, and 200 ms relative to onset of muscular contraction), and peak RFD (PRFD) (the steepest slope of the curve during the first 200 ms) were tested during two exercises (Leg Press and knee extension) under 2 separate conditions: stretching (S) (3 sets of 30 seconds) and control (C). Only one condition and exercise was tested on each day and the order of application of each condition and exercise was determined randomly. Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles also was assessed. Four post-condition assessments (post-treatment, 10, 20, and 30 minutes) were performed to monitor muscle strength and muscular activity. With the exception of TDF for 100 ms during multiple joint exercise, the ANOVA 2x2, followed by Tukey post-hoc test showed no significant interactions between condition vs. time (p> 0.05) for MVC, PRFD and RFD in different periods of time for single and multiple joint exercises. There was also no significant interaction between condition vs. time to the iEMG for VM, VL and BF during MVC and RFD in different periods of time. There were no significant interactions between exercise vs. time (p> 0.05) for PRFD and RFD and in different time periods for comparison between single and multiple joint exercises. In conclusion, acute bouts of static stretching of the quadríceps do not affect the ability of rapid and maximum muscle force production and the EMG activity for VM, VL and BF of older women at single and multiple joint exercises

Orientador: Sebastião Gobbi / Banca: Paulo de Tarso Veras Farinatti / Banca: Claudio Alexandre Gobatto / Resumo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar o efeito agudo do alongamento estático sobre diferentes parâmetros da curva força-tempo (Cf-t) isométrica e atividade eletromiográfica (EMG) de idosas em exercícios monoarticular e multiarticular. A amostra foi composta por 27 mulheres (65,4 ± 4,3 anos; 69,3 ± 9,0 Kg; 1,57 ± 1,0 m; 28,0 ± 4,0 Kg/m2). A contração voluntária máxima (CVM), taxa de desenvolvimento de força (TDF) (30, 50, 100, 150 e 200 ms relativos ao início da contração muscular) e TDF pico (TDFP) (inclinação mais íngreme da curva nos primeiros 200 ms) foram testadas em dois exercícios (Leg Press ou cadeira extensora) em 2 condições separadas: alongamento (A) (3 séries de 30 segundos para o quadríceps femoral) e controle (C). Em cada dia, apenas uma condição e um tipo de exercício foram testados e a ordem de emprego para cada condição e exercício foram determinadas aleatoriamente. A atividade eletromiográfica dos músculos vasto medial (VM), vasto lateral (VL) e bíceps femoral (BF) também foi avaliada. Quatro avaliações póscondições (imediatamente após; 10; 20 e 30 minutos) foram realizadas para acompanhar o comportamento da força e da atividade muscular. Com exceção da TDF para os 100 ms durante exercício multiarticular, a ANOVA 2x2, seguida do teste post-hoc de Tukey não demonstrou interações condição vs. tempo significativas (p > 0,05) para a CVM, TDFP e TDF nos diferentes períodos de tempo avaliados para exercício monoarticular e multiarticular. Também não foi observada interação condição vs. tempo significativa para a iEMG dos músculos VM, VL e BF durante CVM e TDF nos diferentes períodos de tempo. Não foram observadas interações exercício vs. tempo (p > 0,05) para TDFP e TDF nos diferentes períodos de tempo durante comparação entre exercício monoarticular e multiarticular. Em conclusão séries agudas de alongamento... (Resumo completo, clicâr acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The aim of this study was to analyze the acute effects of static stretching on different parameters of the isometric force-time curve (Cf-t) and electromyography activity (EMG) of elderly women during single and multiple joint exercises. Twenty-seven women (65,4 ± 4,3 years old; 69,3 ± 9,0 Kg; 1,57 ± 1,0 m; 28,0 ± 4,0 Kg/m2) were studied. The maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), rate of force development (RFD) (50, 100, 150, and 200 ms relative to onset of muscular contraction), and peak RFD (PRFD) (the steepest slope of the curve during the first 200 ms) were tested during two exercises (Leg Press and knee extension) under 2 separate conditions: stretching (S) (3 sets of 30 seconds) and control (C). Only one condition and exercise was tested on each day and the order of application of each condition and exercise was determined randomly. Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles also was assessed. Four post-condition assessments (post-treatment, 10, 20, and 30 minutes) were performed to monitor muscle strength and muscular activity. With the exception of TDF for 100 ms during multiple joint exercise, the ANOVA 2x2, followed by Tukey post-hoc test showed no significant interactions between condition vs. time (p> 0.05) for MVC, PRFD and RFD in different periods of time for single and multiple joint exercises. There was also no significant interaction between condition vs. time to the iEMG for VM, VL and BF during MVC and RFD in different periods of time. There were no significant interactions between exercise vs. time (p> 0.05) for PRFD and RFD and in different time periods for comparison between single and multiple joint exercises. In conclusion, acute bouts of static stretching of the quadríceps do not affect the ability of rapid and maximum muscle force production and the EMG activity for VM, VL and BF of older women at single and multiple joint exercises / Mestre

No description available.

Purpose: To determine the reliability of early force production (50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 ms) relative to peak force (PF) during an isometric mid-thigh pull and to assess the relationships between these variables. Methods:: Male collegiate athletes (N = 29; age 21.1 [2.9] y, height 1.71 [0.07] m, body mass 71.3 [13.6] kg) performed isometric mid-thigh pulls during 2 separate testing sessions. Net PF and net force produced at each epoch were calculated. Within- and between-session reliabilities were determined using intraclass correlation coefficients and coefficient of variation percentages. In addition, Pearson correlation coefficients and coefficient of determination were calculated to examine the relationships between PF and time-specific force production. Results:: Net PF and time-specific force demonstrated very high to almost perfect reliability both within and between sessions (intraclass correlation coefficients .82–.97; coefficient of variation percentages 0.35%–1.23%). Similarly, time-specific force expressed as a percentage of PF demonstrated very high to almost perfect reliability both within and between sessions (intraclass correlation coefficients .76–.86; coefficient of variation percentages 0.32%–2.51%). Strong to nearly perfect relationships (r = .615–.881) exist between net PF and time-specific net force, with relationships improving over longer epochs. Conclusion:: Based on the smallest detectable difference, a change in force at 50 milliseconds expressed relative to PF > 10% and early force production (100, 150, 200, and 250 ms) expressed relative to PF of >2% should be considered meaningful. Expressing early force production as a percentage of PF is reliable and may provide greater insight into the adaptations to the previous training phase than PF alone.

The purpose of this investigation was to quantify the magnitude of change in maximal strength and jumping abilities over approximately 1, 2, and 3 years of supervised sport and resistance training in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division I women's volleyball athletes. This was an exploratory study on a cohort of women's volleyball athletes (n = 29) split into 3 groups based on the length of the time spent in a supervised resistance training program: Group 1 (n = 11): 0.7 ± 0.3 years, group 2 (n = 9): 1.6 ± 0.2 years, and group 3 (n = 9): 2.4 ± 0.6 years. Monitoring tests consisted of standing height (cm), body mass (kg), body fat (%), static jump height (SJH) and countermovement JH (CMJH) with 0-, 11-, and 20-kg loads (cm), and midthigh clean pull isometric peak force (IPF) and allometrically scaled IPF (IPFa) (Nkg 20.67). Increasing trends were observed for all variables from groups 1 to 2 to 3. Statistically greater improvements (p ≤ 0.05) with moderate to large effect sizes were found between groups 1 and 3 for SJH 0 (19.7%, d = 1.35), SJH 11 (23.8%, d = 1.23), SJH 20 (30.6%, d = 1.20), CMJH 11 (22.6%, d = 1.18), IPF (44.4%, d = 1.22), and IPFa (41.2%, d = 1.32). A combination of traditional resistance training exercises and weightlifting variations at various loads, in addition to volleyball practice, seem to be effective at increasing maximal strength by 44% and vertical JH by 20-30% in NCAA division I women's volleyball athletes after about 2.5 years of training. Furthermore, these characteristics can be improved in the absence of additional plyometric training outside normal volleyball-specific practice.

Apesar das perdas provocadas pela sarcopenia, o sistema neuromuscular do idoso ainda mantém parte da sua plasticidade. No entanto, as adaptações promovidas pelos treinamentos de força (TF) e de potência (TP) não foram totalmente elucidadas, assim como se existem diferenças entre essas adaptações nessa população. Para responder tais questões, 43 idosos (63,8 ± 4,0 anos; 67,2 ±13,4kg e 160,2 ±8,4cm), inexperientes em treinamento com pesos e independentes participaram desse estudo. Os voluntários foram distribuídos em três grupos: GF (n= 14; 70 a 90% de 1RM), GP (n= 16; 30 a 50% de 1RM) e GC (n= 13, não treinou). Durante 16 semanas o GF e o GP realizaram duas sessões de treino semanalmente. Os resultados significantes foram: aumento de 42,7% em GF e 33,8% em GP no teste de 1RM (leg press) e 31% em GF e 25,4% em GP (chest press); aumento de 6% em GF e 3,6% em GP na ASTq; aumento de 22,4% em GF e 17,1% em GP na CVIM e uma diminuição de 28% em GF e 32% em GP no REM. Não houve diferenças significativas entre GF e GP nas variáveis analisadas. Nenhum dos grupos apresentou aumento no sinal eletromiográfico nem na TDF. Não houve alteração significativa na funcionalidade. Portanto, ainda que com características distintas, o TF e o TP são similares em relação às adaptações analisadas, equiparando-se como estratégias de treinamento eficazes no combate à sarcopenia e seus efeitos / In spite of sarcopenia-induced losses, elderly peoples neuromuscular system keeps its plasticity. However, strength and power training-induced adaptations have not been completely elucidated. It also unknown if these adaptations are related to elderly functionality. Fourty three healthy and independent old men and women (63.8 ± 4.0 yrs; 67.2 ±13.4kg e 160.2 ±8.4cm) with no resistance training experience volunteered for this study. Participants were randomly distributed into three groups: GF (n= 14; 70 - 90%-1RM), GP (n= 16; 30 - 50%-1RM) e GC (n= 13, no training). GF and GP trained twice a week for 16 weeks. Leg-press (42.7% in GF and 33.8% in GP) and chest-press 1-RM (31% in GF and 25.4% in GP), quadriceps cross sectional area (6% in GF and 3.6% in GP), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (22.4% in GF and 17.1% in GP) were significantly increased in both groups. Electromechanical delay decreased 28% in GF and 32% in GP. There were no significant differences between groups. EMG and rate of force development did not change throughout the training period. Only main effect of time was observed for the functional tests. These results suggest that even with different characteristics, both strength and power training induce similar neuromuscular adaptations. Thus, both training regimens are equally effective in preventing and treating sarcopenia

Electrical stimulation has been widely used in the field of sport training or functional rehabilitation to enhance strength training and to assess voluntary muscle activation. Two superimposed techniques can be used: 1) the twitch interpolation technique, which consists of interjecting an electrical stimulus onto the muscle nerve; and 2) the percutaneous superimposed electrical stimulation technique, where the stimulation is applied to the muscle belly. These two superimposed techniques can be used to evaluate the ability to fully activate a muscle. Temperature is important for muscle function. Muscle contraction and relaxation becomes quicker, development of power increasing as the temperature of the body raises. Immoderate temperature of the muscle, as a result, can decrease physical efficiency. However it is unclear how muscle heating can affect superimposed pulse force, therefore our aim was to determine and compare variant temperature affect on additionally activated quadriceps femoris muscle during isometric load. The study was performed at Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education. The subjects were 10 healthy adult men (age 22,1 ± 2,3 years, weight 72,3 ± 4,9 kg, height 178 ± 5,7 cm) who were not actively going in for sports. The study was consisted of two stages. During the first stage subjects were tested under control conditions. During the second stage (was performed after two weeks) subjects were tested, when their muscles were heated. Quadriceps femoris... [to full text]

Apesar das perdas provocadas pela sarcopenia, o sistema neuromuscular do idoso ainda mantém parte da sua plasticidade. No entanto, as adaptações promovidas pelos treinamentos de força (TF) e de potência (TP) não foram totalmente elucidadas, assim como se existem diferenças entre essas adaptações nessa população. Para responder tais questões, 43 idosos (63,8 ± 4,0 anos; 67,2 ±13,4kg e 160,2 ±8,4cm), inexperientes em treinamento com pesos e independentes participaram desse estudo. Os voluntários foram distribuídos em três grupos: GF (n= 14; 70 a 90% de 1RM), GP (n= 16; 30 a 50% de 1RM) e GC (n= 13, não treinou). Durante 16 semanas o GF e o GP realizaram duas sessões de treino semanalmente. Os resultados significantes foram: aumento de 42,7% em GF e 33,8% em GP no teste de 1RM (leg press) e 31% em GF e 25,4% em GP (chest press); aumento de 6% em GF e 3,6% em GP na ASTq; aumento de 22,4% em GF e 17,1% em GP na CVIM e uma diminuição de 28% em GF e 32% em GP no REM. Não houve diferenças significativas entre GF e GP nas variáveis analisadas. Nenhum dos grupos apresentou aumento no sinal eletromiográfico nem na TDF. Não houve alteração significativa na funcionalidade. Portanto, ainda que com características distintas, o TF e o TP são similares em relação às adaptações analisadas, equiparando-se como estratégias de treinamento eficazes no combate à sarcopenia e seus efeitos / In spite of sarcopenia-induced losses, elderly peoples neuromuscular system keeps its plasticity. However, strength and power training-induced adaptations have not been completely elucidated. It also unknown if these adaptations are related to elderly functionality. Fourty three healthy and independent old men and women (63.8 ± 4.0 yrs; 67.2 ±13.4kg e 160.2 ±8.4cm) with no resistance training experience volunteered for this study. Participants were randomly distributed into three groups: GF (n= 14; 70 - 90%-1RM), GP (n= 16; 30 - 50%-1RM) e GC (n= 13, no training). GF and GP trained twice a week for 16 weeks. Leg-press (42.7% in GF and 33.8% in GP) and chest-press 1-RM (31% in GF and 25.4% in GP), quadriceps cross sectional area (6% in GF and 3.6% in GP), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (22.4% in GF and 17.1% in GP) were significantly increased in both groups. Electromechanical delay decreased 28% in GF and 32% in GP. There were no significant differences between groups. EMG and rate of force development did not change throughout the training period. Only main effect of time was observed for the functional tests. These results suggest that even with different characteristics, both strength and power training induce similar neuromuscular adaptations. Thus, both training regimens are equally effective in preventing and treating sarcopenia