Time‐of‐Day Effect on the Torque and Neuromuscular Properties of Dominant and Non‐Dominant Quadriceps Femoris

Abstract

The study was conducted first, to determine the possibility of a dichotomy between circadian rhythm of maximal torque production of the knee extensors of the dominant and non-dominant legs, and second, to determine whether the possible dichotomy could be linked to a change in the downward drive of the central nervous system and/or to phenomena prevailing at the muscular level. The dominant leg was defined as the one with which subjects spontaneously kick a football. Tests were performed at 06:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, and 22:00 h. To distinguish the neural and muscular mechanisms that influence muscle strength, the electromyographic and mechanical muscle responses associated with electrically evoked and/or voluntary contractions of the human quadriceps and semi-tendinosus muscles for each leg were recorded and compared. The main finding was an absence of interaction between time-of-day and dominance effects on the torque associated with maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of both quadriceps. A significant time-of-day effect on MVC torque of the knee extensors was observed for the dominant and non-dominant legs when the data were collapsed, with highest values occurring at 18:00 h (p < 0.01). From cosinor analysis, a circadian rhythm was documented (p < 0.001) with the peak (acrophase) estimated at 18:18 +/- 00:12 h and amplitude (one-half the peak-to-trough variation) of 3.3 +/- 1.1%. Independent of the leg tested, peripheral mechanisms demonstrated a significant time-of-day effect (p < 0.05) on the peak-torque of the single and doublet stimulations, with maximal levels attained at 18:00 h. The central activation of the quadriceps muscle of each leg remained unchanged during the day. The present results confirmed previous observations that muscle torque changes in a predictable manner during the 24 h period, and that the changes are linked to modifications prevailing at the muscular, rather than the neural, level. The similar rhythmicity observed in this study between the dominant and non-dominant legs provides evidence that it is not essential to test both legs when simple motor tasks are investigated as a function of the time of day.

Time of Day Effect on Soccer—Specific Field Tests in Tunisian Boy Players

“…Even though it is still largely accepted that temperature is the primary circadian indicator of physical performance, recent evidence has challenged the traditional views about the relationship between body temperature and exercise performance. Recent studies investigating the neuromuscular performance at different timeof-day revealed a distinct circadian rhythm in physiological variables independent of temperature changes (Guette et al, 2005). This can explain the fact that circadian rhythm in sporting performance is affected by multi-factorial mechanisms, such as time since waking, level of fatigue, alertness (Atkinson et al, 1998;Edwards et al, 2007) and mood state (Drust et al, 2005).…”

“…The worst performance of dribbling and agility observed in the morning can be explained by the significant low body-temperature (P < 0.01) which can modify muscular electric activity, causing a change in muscular coordination and, consequently, a performance decrease (Oksa et al, 1996). Moreover, the effect of time of day on muscle contractile properties could be attributed, in part, to an intracellular variation in the muscle (e.g., a circadian variation in inorganic phosphate concentration) and/or, in part, to the circadian rhythm in the central temperature, which could influence calcium release by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (Guette et al, 2005).…”

Effects of time of day on resistance exercise-induced anabolic signaling in skeletal muscle

“…It must, however, be noted that their study was not primarily designed to address the effect of time of day. Hence, the acute loadings and biopsy samplings were not scheduled to early morning and late afternoon hours, when diurnal minimum and maximum in neuromuscular performance is typically found, respectively (12,26,32,33,35). Furthermore, early morning and late afternoon hours are also when hormonal signalling is dramatically different (e.g., cortisol to testosterone ratio -for a review see (16)).…”

The Validity of the Modified Star Excursion Balance Test as a Predictor of Knee Extensor and Hip Abductor Strength

“…Another contributing factor to strength testing is the time of day effect when maximal muscle contractions are influenced by the circadian fluctuations in muscle temperature that occur throughout the day with a 10% positive difference having been observed in an evening when compared to the morning within the same subjects [25]. In contrast, Gribble et al [26] reported better SEBT performance in a morning compared to afternoon or evening.…”