Influence of the intensity of a conditioning contraction on the subsequent twitch torque and maximal voluntary concentric torque
Introduction
It is known that the magnitude of twitch torque evoked by an electrical stimulation of a muscle increases after a maximal or submaximal voluntary contraction (conditioning contraction) of the same muscle. This phenomenon is called postactivation potentiation (PAP) (Sale, 2002, Tillin and Bishop, 2009). The magnitude of isometric torque during a twitch contraction increases after a conditioning contraction (O’Leary et al., 1997, Gossen et al., 2001), whereas tetanic contraction force does not change (Vandenboom et al., 1993, Vandenboom et al., 1995). Previous study has shown that the effect of myosin light chain phosphorylation induced by conditioning contractions on the subsequent contractions, one possible mechanism for PAP (Sweeney et al., 1993), was attenuated as the activation level of the subsequent contraction increased (Baudry and Duchateau, 2004). This result indicates that maximal voluntary isometric torque is less sensitive than isometric twitch torque to the positive effects of a conditioning contraction.
Recently, however, it has been shown that concentric torque at maximal intensity increased following a conditioning contraction (Miyamoto et al., 2011). This increase was considered to be attributable to the effect of shortening velocity during tetanic contraction following a conditioning contraction on the extent of PAP (MacIntosh et al., 2008). Namely, the extent of PAP is larger at higher shortening velocities. Therefore, concentric torque can be increased by a conditioning contraction even at maximal intensity.
A previous study revealed the influence of the intensity of a conditioning contraction on the magnitude of PAP (Vandervoort et al., 1983). The study showed that >75% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) effectively increased subsequent isometric twitch torque. However, only two subjects were tested in that study. In addition, previous studies have reported that a conditioning contraction has less influence on a maximal voluntary concentric contraction than an isometric twitch contraction (Baudry and Duchateau, 2007) (thumb adduction); Miyamoto et al., 2011 (plantar flexion). However, the effect of intensity of a conditioning contraction on maximal voluntary concentric torque has not been examined. Therefore, the present study aimed to test the influence of the intensity of a conditioning contraction on subsequent torque development between an isometric twitch and a maximal voluntary concentric contractions.
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Subjects
Twelve male subjects (age: 23.6 ± 2.5 years, height: 171.9 ± 4.1 cm, body mass: 64.0 ± 6.1 kg, mean ± SD) volunteered for this study. Each subject was a healthy college or graduate student who did not participate regularly in any physical training program. Each subject was given an explanation about the purpose and risks of this study and written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee on Human Research of the University.
Experimental setup
Each subject was asked to
Results
Two-way ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between time and intensity for isometric twitch torque. Additional analysis demonstrated that the isometric twitch torque increased after the conditioning contraction in comparison to that tested before the contraction in each condition (P < 0.05). In addition, the isometric twitch torque measured after the conditioning contraction increased with the intensity of the conditioning contraction (P < 0.05) (Fig. 2).
For maximal voluntary concentric
Discussion
The present study showed that the extent of the increase in isometric twitch torque became larger as intensity of the conditioning contraction increased. On the other hand, maximal voluntary concentric torque increased only after the conditioning contraction at 80% and 100% MVIC, with the extent of the increase being the same in both conditions. These results indicated that the effect of intensity of a conditioning contraction on subsequent torque development is different between isometric
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported partly by the Waseda University Global Centre of Excellence (GCOE) program, “Sport Sciences for the Promotion for Active Life” and by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan (No. 21300217).
Atsuki Fukutani received his M.Sc. degree at Waseda University in 2010. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. degree under the direction of Dr. Kawakami. His research interests focus on the mechanism of muscle contraction.
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Atsuki Fukutani received his M.Sc. degree at Waseda University in 2010. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. degree under the direction of Dr. Kawakami. His research interests focus on the mechanism of muscle contraction.
Naokazu Miyamoto received his Ph.D. degree in Human and Environmental Studies from Kyoto University in 2005. Currently he is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University. His main research interests include evaluation of neuromuscular function using electromyography, mechanomyography, electrical stimulation technique, and ultrasonography.
Hiroaki Kanehisa received his Ph.D. degree (education) from the University of Tokyo in 1992. Currently, he is a professor in the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya. His major area of research is the growth and aging of human skeletal muscles with special emphasis on the influences of physical training on the morphological and functional profiles of muscles. He is a member of two professional societies.
Toshimasa Yanai received his Ph.D. in Biomechanics from University of Iowa in 1996 under the supervision of Dr. James G. Hay. Since 2008 he is a professor at the Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University. His current interests are centered on the mechanical analysis of sports techniques, particularly on 3-dimentional movement of shoulder complex.
Yasuo Kawakami was given Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1995. Currently he is a professor at the Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, lecturing in biomechanics and biodynamics. His main research interest is in the area of muscle mechanics, particularly on muscle behavior in vivo and during human movements. Effects of training, growth, aging, and fatigue on human muscles are also in the scope of his research.