Authors: Maria Papaiordanidou David Guiraud Alain Varray
Publish Date: 2010/07/04
Volume: 110, Issue: 4, Pages: 815-823
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine whether central fatigue occurs when fatigue is electrically induced in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle Three series of 17 trains 30 Hz 450 μs 4 s on/6 s off at the maximal tolerated intensity were used to fatigue the muscle Neuromuscular tests consisting of electrically evoked and voluntary contractions were performed before and after every 17train series Both the force induced by the stimulation trains and maximal voluntary force generation capacity significantly decreased throughout the protocol −27 and −20 respectively at the end of the protocol P 0001 These decreases were accompanied by failure in muscle excitability P 001 as assessed by the muscle compound action potential Mwave or Mmax leading to significant impairment in the muscle contractile properties P 005 as assessed by the muscle mechanical response Pt Central fatigue indices level of activation RMS/Mmax and H reflex were not significantly changed at any point in the protocol This gives evidence of preserved motor command reaching the motor neurons and preserved spinal excitability The results indicate that this lowfrequency stimulation protocol entails purely peripheral fatigue development when applied to a low fatigueresistant muscle
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