Relationships among the muscle strength properties as assessed through various tests and variables

Abstract

We tested the hypotheses that the individual strength properties depend on the applied test and the variable extracted, rather than on the muscle group tested. Flexor and extensor muscles acting in the knee and elbow joint were tested in 58 participants. The standard strength test (SST; based on sustained maximum contraction) and alternating consecutive maximum contractions (ACMC; alternating contractions of antagonistic muscles) performed under static conditions were separately applied to provide the maximum force (F) and the rate of force development (RFD) of each tested muscle. The principal component analysis applied on all 16 variables revealed 3 factors that explained 85.5% of the total variance. Contrary to our hypotheses, the individual factors were loaded with the variables recorded from individual muscles, rather than with either the particular variables or tests. The present findings suggest that recording both F and RFD in routine strength testing procedures could be redundant since they may assess the same strength property of the tested muscle. In addition, ACMC may be a feasible alternative to SST since it could assess the same strength properties from two antagonist muscles through a single trial, while being based on relatively low and transient forces.

Muscle Force-Velocity Relationships Observed in Four Different Functional Tests

“…Nevertheless, note that the observed moderate generalizability of the F-V parameters could be in line with recent studies revealing weak generalizability of strength measures across the individual muscles of the muscular system (Bohannon, 2008) or functional movements (Pojednic et al, 2012). Note that different variables observed by employing different methods might strongly correlate within the same muscle, but weakly across the muscular system in general (Bozic et al, 2013; Prebeg et al, 2013). …”

Asymmetries in explosive strength following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

“…Thus, the indices of explosive strength were introduced for the purpose of a predisposing risk factor for an ACL injury [18], and as a complementary measure to maximum strength aimed to follow up the recovery of muscle function after an ACLR [17]. Note that although a positive relationship between the maximum and explosive strength has been documented [19, 25, 26], the same muscle abilities should also be partly independent [19, 20, 27]. Namely, previous studies have suggested that short-term improvements in explosive and maximum force production may require distinct training stimuli that elicit specific adaptations (e.g., high-load contractions have proved effective in increasing maximum strength, while there is equivocal evidence for its effects on explosive force production).…”

Função muscular de membros inferiores e massa muscular em jogadores de futebol

“…Ao considerarmos que a ação isocinética exige uma produção de força tanto da musculatura agonista quanto na antagonista, era esperado a existência de relações distintas, seja por segmento corporal, grupo muscular envolvido, ou mesmo a resposta intraindividual. Neste contexto, têm sido reportado que a expressão da força em amplitudes diferentes pode induzir respostas distintas 16,17 . No presente estudo, as variáveis da função muscular foram avaliadas apenas na velocidade angular 60º/s que em certa medida podem representar angulações mais próximas das ações especificas realizadas no futebol.…”