Motor Unit Discharge Rates During Maximal Fatiguing Eccentric Contractions and Recovery in the Human Elbow Extensors.

Introduction: Eccentric (ECC) contractions are uniquely characterized by higher maximal torque output compared with concentric or isometric actions. However, this advantage is accompanied by greater and more prolonged torque loss following fatiguing ECC exercise compared with other modalities. Altho...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 138 - 149
Autores principales: BASILE, DANIEL C., RICE, CHARLES L.
Formato: pictorial research tables/charts tracings Journal Article
Publicado: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Jan2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=190276746&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 190276746
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        01959131
        4DP
      jtl: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
      issn: 01959131
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jan2026
      vid: 58
      iid: 1
      pid: 433
      pub: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
      place: Baltimore, Maryland
    artinfo:
      ui:
        190276746
        190276746
        190276746
        10.1249/MSS.0000000000003847
        190276746
      ppf: 138
      ppct: 11
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: Motor Unit Discharge Rates During Maximal Fatiguing Eccentric Contractions and Recovery in the Human Elbow Extensors.
      aug:
        au:
          BASILE, DANIEL C.
          RICE, CHARLES L.
        affil: School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CANADA
      sug:
        subj:
          Motor Unit
          Motor Activity
          Eccentric Contraction Physiology
          Recovery
          Elbow Physiology
          Therapeutic Exercise
          Task Performance and Analysis
          Muscle Fatigue
          Human
          Electrodes
          Triceps Brachii Physiology
          Torque
          Isokinetic Exercises
          Electromyography
          Exercise Physiology
          Young Adult
          Descriptive Statistics
          Male
          Female
          Repeated Measures
          Analysis of Variance
          Paired T-Tests
          Data Analysis Software
          Funding Source
          Male
          Female
      ab: Introduction: Eccentric (ECC) contractions are uniquely characterized by higher maximal torque output compared with concentric or isometric actions. However, this advantage is accompanied by greater and more prolonged torque loss following fatiguing ECC exercise compared with other modalities. Although muscle contractile responses to dynamic fatiguing contractions have been documented, the neural control of ECC contractions—particularly at the level of individual motor units—remains poorly understood. The purpose was to evaluate motor unit discharge rate (MUDR) modulation during and in recovery after a maximal effort ECC fatiguing task. Methods: Single motor unit activity was recorded with fine-wire electrodes inserted into the triceps brachii muscle. Participants completed an elbow extension protocol with subsequent recovery for 30 min, involving repetitive sets of 10 maximal repetitions until 50% torque loss relative to baseline maximal ECC torque. Results: MUDR declined substantially (>35%) from baseline to task failure (37.1 vs 23.1 Hz, P ≤ 0.001) and did not return to baseline values until 10 min of recovery (P = 0.597). However, both electrically stimulated twitch torque and maximal voluntary ECC torque remained depressed at 30 min (P = 0.001), relative to baseline. Conclusions: This study provides a novel characterization of motor unit behavior during fatigue induced by maximal ECC contractions, revealing a significant reduction consistent with prior evidence of impaired MUDR under other fatiguing tasks. In addition, results indicate that prolonged torque depression (30 min post-task failure) following the ECC fatiguing task is primarily attributable to peripheral muscle impairments, as MUDR recovered to baseline within ~10 min.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        tracings
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N