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. 2023 Apr 20:87:11-21.
doi: 10.5114/jhk/161729. eCollection 2023 Apr.

Enhancement of Muscle Shortening Torque Preloaded with Muscle Lengthening is Joint-Specific

Marzouq K Almutairi  1   2 , Gary R Hunter  3 , Donald H Lein  1 , SoJung Kim  4 , David R Bryan  3 , Mario Inacio  5   6 , Christopher P Hurt  1 , William Reed  1 , Harshvardhan Singh  1
Affiliations

Enhancement of Muscle Shortening Torque Preloaded with Muscle Lengthening is Joint-Specific

Marzouq K Almutairi et al. J Hum Kinet. .

Abstract

Our cross-sectional study aimed to investigate joint specificity of concentric muscle torque enhancement after a maximum eccentric contraction for the knee versus ankle joints across two different movement velocities (120°/s and 180°/s). After a familiarization session, 22 healthy young adults randomly performed concentric (CONC) and maximum eccentric preloaded concentric (EccCONC) muscle strength tests of the knee extensors and ankle plantar flexors of the non-dominant leg on an isokinetic strength testing device. We calculated the ratio between EccCONC and CONC (EccCONC/CONC) for all the conditions as the marker of concentric muscle torque enhancement. Separate two-way (joints x velocity) within repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine joint-specific torque differences at 120°/s and 180°/s. CONC and EccCONC were greater for the knee extensors versus ankle plantar flexors at 120°/s and 180°/s (32.86%-102%; p < 0.001 for both); however, EccCONC/CONC was greater for the ankle plantar flexors than knee extensors at 120°/s (52.4%; p < 0.001) and 180°/s (41.9%; p < 0.001). There was a trend of greater EccCONC/CONC for the knee extensors at 180°/s than 120°/s (6.6%; p = 0.07). Our results show that greater concentric muscle torque enhancement after a maximal eccentric contraction occurs for the ankle plantar flexors versus knee extensors. Whether the joint- specificity of concentric muscle torque enhancement after a maximal eccentric contraction differentially affects sports performance is unknown. Our data provide a reference framework to investigate joint-specific concentric muscle torque enhancement for general and clinical athletic populations.

Keywords: muscle performance; plyometric; potentiation; stretch shortening cycle.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Differences in concentric (CONC) peak torque and eccentric preloaded concentric peak torque (EccCONC) between the velocities of 120°/s and 180°/s, for the knee extensors (A and B) and ankle plantar flexors (C and D), respectively. * Significance at p < 0.05
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of concentric (CONC) peak torque and eccentric preloaded concentric peak torque (EccCONC) between the knee extensors and ankle plantar flexors, at 120°/s (A and B) and 180°/s (C and D), respectively. * Significance at p < 0.05
Figure 3
Figure 3
Differences in concentric muscle torque enhancement (EccCONC/CONC) between the knee extensors and ankle plantar flexors at 120°/s (A) and 180°/s (B); EccCONC, eccentric preloaded concentric peak torque; CONC, concentric peak torque. * Significance at p < 0.05
Figure 4
Figure 4
Differences in muscle torque enhancement (EccCONC/CONC) between 120°/s and 180°/s for the knee extensors and ankle plantar flexors. EccCONC, eccentric preloaded concentric peak torque; CONC, concentric peak torque # Significance trend at p = 0.07
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