Motor Behavior

Effect of central and peripheral muscle fatigue contribution after ankle submaximal fatiguing contractions on muscle synergies and postural control

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Sport and physical education, Shahid beheshti university, Tehran

2 Institute of Movement Science, Sport and Health, University of Graz, Mozartgasse 14, A- 8010 Graz, Austria

Abstract
Although the effect of ankle muscles on postural control and muscle synergies has well been investigated, it is needed to study more about the contribution of central and peripheral fatigue of submaximal contractions on postural control and muscle synergies. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of submaximal fatiguing exercise that induce preferentially central fatigue on muscle synergy and postural control. For this purpose, 12 volunteer subjects participated in this study. The tibia nerve was electrically stimulated to assess the M-wave, central fatigue (voluntary activation) and peripheral fatigue (rest imposed twitch) during voluntary maximal contractions on dynamometer. Moreover, electromyography activity of ten muscles and COP were recorded to assess muscle synergy and postural stability respectively during anterior-posterior voluntary sway on force plate. In order to induce fatiguing exercise the subjects performed submaximal fatiguing contractions on dynamometer and all of the mentioned variables again were measured. The effect of the fatiguing protocol tested with paired-samples T Test and Z Fisher Test. Submaximal contractions induced greater increases of COP sway area. Muscles activation, muscle synergies variance decreased and the number of co-contractions increased significantly after submaximal contractions (P = 0.01). Contribution of central fatigue (16.64%) significantly greater than peripheral fatigue (2.32%) after submaximal contractions (P = 0.02). The results of this study showed that more central fatigue after submaximal contraction leads to more COP changes. Therefore, investigating central and peripheral mechanisms following ankle fatiguing contractions may be useful for scheduling rehabilitation and balance training programs.

Keywords

  1. Taylor JL, Gandevia SC. A comparison of central aspects of fatigue in submaximal and maximal voluntary contractions. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2008;104(2):542-50.
  2. Gandevia SC. Spinal and supraspinal factors in human muscle fatigue. Physiological Reviews. 2001.
  3. Behm D, St-Pierre D, Perez D. Muscle inactivation: assessment of interpolated twitch technique. Journal of Applied Physiology. 1996;81(5):2267-73.
  4. Eichelberger TD, Bilodeau M. Central fatigue of the first dorsal interosseous muscle during low‐force and high‐force sustained submaximal contractions. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging. 2007;27(5):298-304.
  5. Carroll TJ, Taylor JL, Gandevia SC. Recovery of central and peripheral neuromuscular fatigue after exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2017;122(5):1068-76.
  6. Smith JL, Martin PG, Gandevia SC, Taylor JL. Sustained contraction at very low forces produces prominent supraspinal fatigue in human elbow flexor muscles. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2007;103(2):560-8.
  7. 7. Yoon T, Schlinder Delap B, Griffith EE, Hunter SK. Mechanisms of fatigue differ after low‐and high‐force fatiguing contractions in men and women. Muscle & Nerve: Official Journal of the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine. 2007;36(4):515-24.
  8. Gribble PA, Hertel J. Effect of hip and ankle muscle fatigue on unipedal postural control. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology. 2004;14(6):641-6.
  9. Mirmoezzi M, Sadeghi H, Jafari M, Lotfi L. The Effect of Fatigue on the Static and Dynamic Balance in Karate Kata and Kumite Elite Men. Journal of Sport Biomechanics. 2018;4(1):31-42. (In Persian).
  10. Shumway-Cook A, Woollacott MH. Motor control: translating research into clinical practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007.
  11. Kuo AD, Zajac FE. Human standing posture: multi-joint movement strategies based on biomechanical constraints. In: Progress in brain research. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1993. pp. 349-58.
  12. Chvatal SA, Ting LH. Common muscle synergies for balance and walking. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. 2013;7:48.
  13. Bernstein N. The co-ordination and regulation of movements. Oxford: PergamonPress Ltd., Headington Hill Hall; 1967.
  14. Torres-Oviedo G, Ting LH. Muscle synergies characterizing human postural responses. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2007;98(4):2144-56.
  15. Krishnamoorthy V, Latash ML, Scholz JP, Zatsiorsky VM. Muscle modes during shifts of the center of pressure by standing persons: effect of instability and additional support. Experimental Brain Research. 2004;157(1):18-31.
  16. Boyas S, Hajj M, Bilodeau M. Influence of ankle plantarflexor fatigue on postural sway, lower limb articular angles, and postural strategies during unipedal quiet standing. Gait & Posture. 2013;37(4):547-51.
  17. Enoka RM, Baudry S, Rudroff T, Farina D, Klass M, Duchateau J. Unraveling the neurophysiology of muscle fatigue. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology. 2011;21(2):208-19.
  18. Huffenus A-F, Amarantini D, Forestier N. Effects of distal and proximal arm muscles fatigue on multi-joint movement organization. Experimental Brain Research. 2006;170(4):438-47.
  19. Cowley JC, Gates DH. Inter-joint coordination changes during and after muscle fatigue. Human Movement Science. 2017;56:109-18.
  20. Singh T, Latash ML. Effects of muscle fatigue on multi-muscle synergies. Experimental Brain Research. 2011;214(3):335-50.
  21. Ritzmann R, Freyler K, Werkhausen A, Gollhofer A. Changes in balance strategy and neuromuscular control during a fatiguing balance task—a study in perturbed unilateral stance. Frontiers in human neuroscience. 2016;10:289.
  22. Hoffman BW, Oya T, Carroll, TJ, Cresswell, AG. Increases in corticospinal responsiveness during a sustained submaximal plantar flexion. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2009;107:112-20.
  23. Boyas S, Remaud A, Rivers E, Bilodeau M. Fatiguing exercise intensity influences the relationship between parameters reflecting neuromuscular function and postural control variables. PLoS One. 2013;8(8):e72482.
  24. Riemann BL, Myers JB, Lephart SM. Comparison of the ankle, knee, hip, and trunk corrective action shown during single-leg stance on firm, foam, and multiaxial surfaces. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2003;84(1):90-5.
  25. Schieppati M, Nardone A. Group II spindle afferent fibers in humans: their possible role in the reflex control of stance. Progress in Brain Research. 1999;123:461-72.
  26. Movement sway: changes in postural sway during voluntary shifts of the center of pressure. Experimental Brain Research. 2003;150:314-24.
  27. Singh TLM. Effects of muscle fatigue on multi-muscle synergies. 2011;214(3):335-50.
  28. Zumbrunn T, MacWilliams BA, Johnson BA. Evaluation of a single leg stance balance test in children. Gait & Posture. 2011;34(2):174-7.
  29. Kaiser HF. Computer program for varimax rotation in factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 1959;19(3):413-20.
  30. Johnson RA, Wichern DW. Applied multivariate statistical analysis. New Jersey: Prentice hall Upper Saddle River; 2002.
  31. Nordlund MM, Thorstensson A, Cresswell AG. Central and peripheral contributions to fatigue in relation to level of activation during repeated maximal voluntary isometric plantar flexions. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2004;96(1):218-25.
  32. Jones D. editor. Muscle fatigue due to changes beyond the neuromuscular junction. Ciba Found Symp: Wiley Online Library;1981.
  33. Paillard T, Lizin C, Rousseau M, Cebellan M. Time to task failure influences the postural alteration more than the extent of muscles fatigued. Gait & Posture. 2014;39(1):540-6.
  34. Paillard T, Margnes E, Maitre J, Chaubet V, François Y, Jully J, et al. Electrical stimulation superimposed onto voluntary muscular contraction reduces deterioration of both postural control and quadriceps femoris muscle strength. Neuroscience. 2010;165(4):1471-5.
  35. Lowrey CR, Nashed JY, Scott SH. Rapid and flexible whole body postural responses are evoked from perturbations to the upper limb during goal-directed reaching. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2017;117(3):1070-83.
  36. Henneman E, Somjen G, Carpenter DO. Functional significance of cell size in spinal motoneurons. Journal of Neurophysiology. 1965;28(3):560-80.
  37. Paillard T. Relationship between muscle function, muscle typology and postural performance according to different postural conditions in young and older adults. Frontiers in Physiology. 2017;8:58.
  38. Latash ML. Fundamentals of motor control. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Academic Press; 2012. p. 37.
  39. Calvin T, McDonald AC, Keir PJ. Adaptations to isolated shoulder fatigue during simulated repetitive work. Part I: Fatigue. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology. 2016;29:34-41.
  40. Côté JN, Feldman AG, Mathieu PA, Levin MF. Effects of fatigue on intermuscular coordination during repetitive hammering. Motor Control. 2008;12(2):79-92.
  41. Latash ML. Muscle coactivation: definitions, mechanisms, and functions. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2018;120(1):88-104.
  42. Feldman AG. Referent control of action and perception. Challenging Conventional Theories in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2736-4.
  43. Latash ML. Motor synergies and the equilibrium-point hypothesis. Motor Control. 2010;14(3):294-322.
  44. Feldman AG, Ostry DJ, Levin MF, Gribble PL, Mitnitski AB. Recent tests of the equilibrium-point hypothesis (λ model). Motor Control. 1998;2(3):189-205.
  45. Park S, Horak FB, Kuo AD. Postural feedback responses scale with biomechanical constraints in human standing. Experimental Brain Research. 2004;154(4):417-27.
Motor Behavior
Volume 15, Issue 51
April 2023
Pages 67-90

  • Receive Date 29 March 2021
  • Revise Date 15 June 2021
  • Accept Date 19 July 2021

Home

Reviewers

Submit Manuscript

Publication Ethics

news

Journal Metrics

Contact Us