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. 2023 Jan 9;23(2):726.
doi: 10.3390/s23020726.

Torque Regulation Is Influenced by the Nature of the Isometric Contraction

Philipp Bauer  1   2 , João Sá Gomes  1   2 , João Oliveira  1 , Paulo Santos  1 , Pedro Pezarat-Correia  1 , João R Vaz  1   2
Affiliations

Torque Regulation Is Influenced by the Nature of the Isometric Contraction

Philipp Bauer et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a continuous visual feedback and the isometric contraction nature on the complexity and variability of force. Thirteen healthy and young male adults performed three MVCs followed by three submaximal isometric force tasks at a target force of 40% of their MVC for 30 s, as follows: (i) push isometric task with visual feedback (Pvisual); (ii) hold isometric task with visual feedback (Hvisual); (iii) hold isometric task without visual feedback (Hnon-visual). Force complexity was evaluated through sample entropy (SampEn) of the force output. Force variability was analyzed through the coefficient of variation (CV). Results showed that differences were task-related, with Pvisual showing higher complexity (i.e., higher SampEn) and decreased variability (i.e., lower CV) when compared with the remaining tasks. Additionally, no significant differences were found between the two hold isometric force tasks (i.e., no influence of visual feedback). Our results are promising as we showed these two isometric tasks to induce different motor control strategies. Furthermore, we demonstrated that visual feedback's influence is also dependent on the type of isometric task. These findings should motivate researchers and physiologists to shift training paradigms and incorporate different force control evaluation tasks.

Keywords: entropy; force control; nonlinear analysis; variability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of force application of the isokinetic dynamometer in the push and hold isometric task.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sample entropy mean values for each condition. Abbreviations are as follows: Hold NV, hold isometric task without visual feedback (Hnon-visual); Hold V, hold isometric task with visual feedback (Hvisual); Push V, push isometric task with visual feedback (Pvisual); ** indicates p < 0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Coefficient of variation mean values for each condition. Abbreviations are as follows: Hold NV, hold isometric task without visual feedback (Hnon-visual); Hold V, hold isometric task with visual feedback (Hvisual); Push V, push isometric task with visual feedback (Pvisual); ** indicates p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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