Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Sep 1;13(9):1645-1654.
doi: 10.3390/ejihpe13090119.

Evaluating the Asymmetry of Muscle Activation and Strength in Paralympic Powerlifting Athletes

Leonardo Dos Santos  1   2 , Felipe J Aidar  1   2   3   4 , Rafael Luiz Mesquita Souza  2   4 , Dihogo Gama de Matos  5 , Stefania Cataldi  6 , Gianpiero Greco  6 , Márcio Getirana-Mota  1   2   4 , Anderson Carlos Marçal  1   2 , Lucio Marques Vieira Souza  1 , Jymmys Lopes Dos Santos  1 , Paulo Francisco de Almeida-Neto  7 , Breno Guilherme de Araújo Tinoco Cabral  7 , Georgian Badicu  8 , Hadi Nobari  9 , Raphael Frabrício de Souza  1   2   3
Affiliations

Evaluating the Asymmetry of Muscle Activation and Strength in Paralympic Powerlifting Athletes

Leonardo Dos Santos et al. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Strength training is a complex task, as it requires a combination of many variables. In paralympic powerlifting (PP) asymmetries for the evaluation of activation, and static force indicators have been increasingly studied.

Objective: To investigate the asymmetries in the strength and muscle activation indicators, before and after a training session of PP athletes.

Methodology: Twelve elite athletes from the PP participated in the study, and asymmetry was evaluated through surface electromyography (sEMG) and static strength indicators. Evaluations were made before and after a protocol of five series of five repetitions (5 × 5), with 80% of 1-Maximum Repetition (1RM).

Results: In the pectoral muscles, there were differences in the non-dominant limbs between the before and after in the sEMG. There were differences in the pectoralis muscle in the non-dominant limb between moments before (110.75 ± 59.52%) and after (130.53 ± 98.48%, p < 0.001), and there was no difference in triceps activation. In the Maximum Isometric Strength (MIF), there was a difference in the non-dominant limb between before (710.36 ± 129.36) and after (620.27 ± 69.73; p < 0.030). There was a difference before in the dominant (626.89 ± 120.16; 95% CI 550.55-703.24) and non-dominant (710.36 ± 129.36; p = 0.011) limbs. There was no difference in time to MIF.

Conclusion: PP athletes showed small levels of asymmetry before and after training, and adaptation to training tends to promote fewer asymmetries.

Keywords: asymmetry; disabled persons; force; paralympic sports.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design. Legend: MIF: Maximum Isometric Force. Time: Time at MIF. The sEMG: surface electromyography. 5 × 5: five sets of five maximum repetitions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Demonstration of muscle activation assessment using surface electromyography (sEMG); (B) sEMG signal; and (C) Demonstration of force sensor fixation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Muscle activation through surface electromyography (sEMG) in the pectoralis, and below in the same column is the 95% confidence interval (A) and triceps (B) muscles, in dominant and non-dominant limbs, at moments before (series 1) and after (series 5), with a load of 80% 1RM.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Maximum Isometric Force (MIF) and (B) time to MIF, and below in the same column is the 95% confidence interval, before and after moments, in relation to dominant and non-dominant limbs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kraemer W.J., Fleck S.J. Resistance Training: Exercise Prescription (Part 4 of 4) Phys. Sportsmed. 1988;16:69–81. doi: 10.1080/00913847.1988.11709528. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McMahon G., Kennedy R., Burden A. No Effect of Interset Palm Cooling on Acute Bench Press Performance, Electromyography Amplitude, or Spectral Frequencies in Resistance-Trained Men. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2023;37:555–563. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004285. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aedo-Muñoz E., Sanchez-Ramírez C., Moya-Jofre C., Bustamante-Garrido A., Araya-Ibacache M., Dal Bello F., Brito C.-J., Miarka B. Electromyographic Inter-Limb Asymmetry in Bench Press Exercise in Elite Paralympics Weightlifters. ISBS Proc. Arch. 2019;37:67.
    1. Aidar F.J., Brito C.J., de Matos D.G., de Oliveira L.A.S., de Souza R.F., de Almeida-Neto P.F., de Araújo Tinoco Cabral B.G., Neiva H.P., Neto F.R., Reis V.M., et al. Force–Velocity Relationship in Paralympic Powerlifting: Two or Multiple-Point Methods to Determine a Maximum Repetition. BMC Sports Sci. Med. Rehabil. 2022;14:159. doi: 10.1186/s13102-022-00552-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Saeterbakken A.H., Mo D.-A., Scott S., Andersen V. The Effects of Bench Press Variations in Competitive Athletes on Muscle Activity and Performance. J. Hum. Kinet. 2017;57:61–71. doi: 10.1515/hukin-2017-0047. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources