Mechanisms of Fatigue and Recovery in Upper versus Lower Limbs in Men

ABSTRACTPurposeTo compare the mechanisms of fatigue and recovery between upper and lower limbs in the same subjects.MethodsTwelve healthy young men performed a 2-min sustained maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) of the knee extensors (KE) and on another day a 2-min MVC of the elbow flexors (EF). Neuromuscular function evaluations were performed with both transcranial magnetic and peripheral stimulations before (PRE), at the end of the 2-min MVC, and five more times within 8 min of recovery.ResultsDecreases in MVC and cortical voluntary activation were approximately 12% (P 0.05), whereas the increase in silent period duration was approximately 30% greater in EF than KE (P
Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Applied Sciences Source Type: research