Shear-wave elastography is a method that is increasingly used to assess muscle stiffness in clinical practice and human health research. Recently, shear-wave elastography has been suggested and used to assess exercise-induced muscle damage. This review aimed to summarize the current knowledge of the utility of shear-wave elastography for assessment of muscle damage. In general, the literature supports the shear-wave elastography as a promising method for assessment of muscle damage. Increases in shear modulus are reported immediately and up to several days after eccentric exercise, while studies using shear-wave elastography during and after endurance events are showing mixed results. Moreover, it seems that shear modulus increases are related to the decline in voluntary strength loss. We recommend that shear modulus is measured at multiple muscles within a muscle group and preferably at longer muscle lengths. While further studies are needed to confirm this, the disruption of calcium homeostasis seems to be the primary candidate for the underlying mechanism explaining the increases in shear modulus observed after eccentric exercise. It remains to be investigated how well the changes in shear modulus correlate with directly assessed amount of muscle damage (biopsy).
The aim of this review was to examine the available literature on inter-limb strength and power asymmetries and their effect on sports performance. In total, 31 studies were included. The findings indicate a negative effect of strength asymmetries on change of direction, sprinting, cycling and kicking performance. They may also be detrimental to jumping performance, however, more research is needed to confirm this. The findings on power asymmetries are more inconsistent and indicate that asymmetries measured with various power tests may affect some performance measures. For example, jumping performance is affected by the power asymmetries measured with jumps, but not by those measured with change of direction tests. Furthermore, the correlation between asymmetry tests and performance outcomes can be affected by the type of sport, training period and the magnitude of the asymmetry. To better understand the effects of strength and power asymmetries on athletic performance, further research is needed, particularly on the effects on sport-specific performance tests.
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