The Optimal Joint Angle for Adductor Pollicis Force Production in Men and Women

1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 570-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ditor ◽  
Audrey Hicks

The purpose of this study was to determine the joint angle that allows for the greatest MVC and evoked twitch forces from the adductor pollicis (AP), and also whether there is a gender difference in either the above forces or the optimum thumb angle. Ten men (25.2 yrs) and 10 women (27.6 yrs) participated. The nondominant hand was placed palm-down with the thumb fixed at four angles of abduction (55, 70, 85, 100°). Male MVC forces were significantly greater than female, and there was no significant effect of joint angle on MVC force in either gender. For the evoked twitch, men were significantly stronger than women when tested at the 100 and 85° angles, and a significant effect was found for joint angle such that the lowest twitch force occurred at 55°. Men also tended to have a greater rate of force development than women (p = 0.07). These data suggest that studies using the AP muscle in stimulated and voluntary paradigms should use a thumb angle between 70 and 100° of abduction, or approximately 85°, and that the same angle can be used for both men and women. Key words: evoked twitch, MVC, gender, EMG, rate of force development

2013 ◽  
Vol 115 (11) ◽  
pp. 1634-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason C. Siegler ◽  
Paul W. M. Marshall ◽  
Sean Raftry ◽  
Cristy Brooks ◽  
Ben Dowswell ◽  
...  

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the influence of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on maximal force production, rate of force development (RFD), and muscle recruitment during repeated bouts of high-intensity cycling. Ten male and female ( n = 10) subjects completed two fixed-cadence, high-intensity cycling trials. Each trial consisted of a series of 30-s efforts at 120% peak power output (maximum graded test) that were interspersed with 30-s recovery periods until task failure. Prior to each trial, subjects consumed 0.3 g/kg sodium bicarbonate (ALK) or placebo (PLA). Maximal voluntary contractions were performed immediately after each 30-s effort. Maximal force (Fmax) was calculated as the greatest force recorded over a 25-ms period throughout the entire contraction duration while maximal RFD (RFDmax) was calculated as the greatest 10-ms average slope throughout that same contraction. Fmax declined similarly in both the ALK and PLA conditions, with baseline values (ALK: 1,226 ± 393 N; PLA: 1,222 ± 369 N) declining nearly 295 ± 54 N [95% confidence interval (CI) = 84–508 N; P < 0.006]. RFDmax also declined in both trials; however, a differential effect persisted between the ALK and PLA conditions. A main effect of condition was observed across the performance time period, with RFDmax on average higher during ALK (ALK: 8,729 ± 1,169 N/s; PLA: 7,691 ± 1,526 N/s; mean difference between conditions 1,038 ± 451 N/s, 95% CI = 17–2,059 N/s; P < 0.048). These results demonstrate a differential effect of alkalosis on maximum force vs. maximum rate of force development during a whole body fatiguing task.


2007 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 605-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Holtermann ◽  
Karin Roeleveld ◽  
Beatrix Vereijken ◽  
Gertjan Ettema

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Asunción Martínez-Valencia ◽  
Salvador Romero-Arenas ◽  
José L.L. Elvira ◽  
José María González-Ravé ◽  
Fernando Navarro-Valdivielso ◽  
...  

AbstractResisted sprint training is believed to increase strength specific to sprinting. Therefore, the knowledge of force output in these tasks is essential. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of sled towing (10%, 15% and 20% of body mass (Bm)) on sprint performance and force production during the acceleration phase. Twenty-three young experienced sprinters (17 men and 6 women; men = 17.9 ± 3.3 years, 1.79 ± 0.06 m and 69.4 ± 6.1 kg; women = 17.2 ± 1.7 years, 1.65 ± 0.04 m and 56.6 ± 2.3 kg) performed four 30 m sprints from a crouch start. Sprint times in 20 and 30 m sprint, peak force (Fpeak), a peak rate of force development (RFDpeak) and time to RFD (TRFD) in first step were recorded. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant increases (p ≤ 0.001) in sprint times (20 and 30 m sprint) for each resisted condition as compared to the unloaded condition. The RFDpeak increased significantly when a load increased (3129.4 ± 894.6 N·s−1, p ≤ 0.05 and 3892.4 ± 1377.9 N·s−1, p ≤ 0.01). Otherwise, no significant increases were found in Fpeak and TRFD. The RFD determines the force that can be generated in the early phase of muscle contraction, and it has been considered a factor that influences performance of force-velocity tasks. The use of a load up to 20% Bm might provide a training stimulus in young sprinters to improve the RFDpeak during the sprint start, and thus, early acceleration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Carroll ◽  
Jake R. Bernards ◽  
Caleb D. Bazyler ◽  
Christopher B. Taber ◽  
Charles A. Stuart ◽  
...  

Purpose: To compare repetition maximum (RM) to relative intensity using sets and repetitions (RISR) resistance training on measures of training load, vertical jump, and force production in well-trained lifters. Methods: Fifteen well-trained (isometric peak force = 4403.61 [664.69] N, mean [SD]) males underwent resistance training 3 d/wk for 10 wk in either an RM group (n = 8) or RISR group (n = 7). Weeks 8 to 10 consisted of a tapering period for both groups. The RM group achieved a relative maximum each day, whereas the RISR group trained based on percentages. Testing at 5 time points included unweighted (<1 kg) and 20-kg squat jumps, countermovement jumps, and isometric midthigh pulls. Mixed-design analyses of variance and effect size using Hedge’s g were used to assess within- and between-groups alterations. Results: Moderate between-groups effect sizes were observed for all squat-jump and countermovement-jump conditions supporting the RISR group (g = 0.76–1.07). A small between-groups effect size supported RISR for allometrically scaled isometric peak force (g = 0.20). Large and moderate between-groups effect sizes supported RISR for rate of force development from 0 to 50 ms (g = 1.25) and 0 to 100 ms (g = 0.89). Weekly volume load displacement was not different between groups (P > .05); however, training strain was statistically greater in the RM group (P < .05). Conclusions: Overall, this study demonstrated that RISR training yielded greater improvements in vertical jump, rate of force development, and maximal strength compared with RM training, which may be explained partly by differences in the imposed training stress and the use of failure/nonfailure training in a well-trained population.


Author(s):  
Alessandro Del Vecchio ◽  
Andrea Casolo ◽  
Jakob Lund Dideriksen ◽  
Per Aagaard ◽  
Francesco Felici ◽  
...  

While maximal force increases following short-term isometric strength training, the rate of force development (RFD) may remain relatively unaffected. The underlying neural and muscular mechanisms during rapid contractions after strength training are largely unknown. Since strength training increases the neural drive to muscles, it may be hypothesized that there are distinct neural or muscular adaptations determining the change in RFD independently of an increase in maximal force. Therefore, we examined motor unit population data acquired from surface electromyography during the rapid generation of force before and after four weeks of strength training. We observed that strength training did not change the RFD because it did not influence the number of motor units recruited per second or their initial discharge rate during rapid contractions. While strength training did not change motoneuron behaviour in the force increase phase of rapid contractions, it increased the discharge rate of motoneurons (by ~4 spikes/s) when reaching the plateau phase (~150 ms) of the rapid contractions, determining an increase in maximal force production. Computer simulations with a motor unit model that included neural and muscular properties, closely matched the experimental observations and demonstrated that the lack of change in RFD following training is primarily mediated by an unchanged maximal recruitment speed of motoneurons. These results demonstrate that maximal force and contraction speed are determined by different adaptations in motoneuron behaviour following strength training and indicate that increases in the recruitment speed of motoneurons are required to evoke training-induced increases in RFD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-114
Author(s):  
Nathaniel Morris ◽  
Matthew J. Jordan ◽  
Shailah Sumar ◽  
Bram Adrichem ◽  
Mark Heard ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darjan Smajla ◽  
Jure Žitnik ◽  
Nejc Šarabon

The inter-limb (a)symmetries have been most often assessed with the tests that quantify the maximal muscle capacity. However, the rapid force production and relaxation during submaximal tasks is equally important for successful sports performance. This can be evaluated with an established rate of force development and relaxation scaling factor (RFD-SF/RFR-SF). The aims of our study were (1) to assess the intra-session reliability of shortened RFD-SF/RFR-SF protocol and its absolute and symmetry outcome measures, (2) to compare the main absolute RFD-SF/RFR-SF outcome measures (slopes of RFD-SF and RFR-SF: kRTD–SF and kRFR–SF, theoretical peak RFD/RFR: TPRFD and TPRFR) across gender and sports groups, and (3) to compare inter-limb symmetries across gender and sports groups for main outcome measures (kRFD–SF, kRFR–SF, TPRFD, and TPRFR). A cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of young health participants (basketball and tennis players, and students): 30 in the reliability study and 248 in the comparison study. Our results showed good to excellent relative and excellent absolute reliability for the selected absolute and symmetry outcome measures (kRFD–SF, kRFR–SF, TPRFD, and TPRFR). We found significantly higher absolute values for kRFD–SF and TPRFD in males compared to females for the preferred (kRFD–SF: 9.1 ± 0.9 vs. 8.6 ± 0.9/s) and the non-preferred leg (kRFD–SF: 9.1 ± 0.9 vs. 8.5 ± 0.8/s), while there was no effect of sport. Significantly lower symmetry values for kRFR–SF (88.4 ± 8.6 vs. 90.4 ± 8.0%) and TPRFR (90.9 ± 6.8 vs. 92.5 ± 6.0%) were found in males compared to females. Moreover, tennis players had significantly higher symmetry values for kRFR–SF (91.1 ± 7.7%) and TPRFR (93.1 ± 6.0%) compared to basketball players (kRFR–SF: 88.4 ± 8.7% and TPRFR: 90.9 ± 6.7%) and students (kRFR–SF: 87.6 ± 8.7% and TPRFR: 90.5 ± 6.7%). Our results suggest that the reduced RFD-SF/RFR-SF protocol is a valuable and useful tool for inter-limb (a)symmetry evaluation. Differences in symmetry values in kRFR–SF and TPRFR (relaxation phase) were found between different sports groups. These may be explained by different mechanisms underlying the muscle contraction and relaxation. We suggest that muscle contraction and relaxation should be assessed for in-depth inter-limb symmetry investigation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Minshull ◽  
Lewis James

This study investigated the effects of hypohydration by fluid restriction on voluntary and evoked indices of neuromuscular performance at a functional joint angle. Measures of static volitional peak force (2–3–s maximal muscle actions) and evoked peak twitch force, electromechanical delay, and rate of force development were obtained from the knee extensors (30° knee flexion) of 10 males (age, 24 (4) years; height, 1.76 (0.10) m; body mass, 78.7 (9.13) kg (mean (SD))) prior to and immediately following 24 h of (i) euhydration (EU) and (ii) hypohydration (HYP). Neuromuscular performance was also assessed in response to a fatiguing task (3 × 30-s maximal static knee extensions) following each condition. Repeated-measures ANOVAs showed that HYP was associated with a significant 2.1% loss in body mass (p < 0.001) and a 7.8% reduction in volitional peak force (p < 0.05). Following fatigue, data indicated statistically similar levels of impairment to volitional peak force (11.6%, p < 0.01) and rate of force development (21.0%, p < 0.01) between conditions (EU; HYP). No changes to any other indices of performance were observed. The substantive hypohydration-induced deficits to muscle strength at this functional joint angle might convey a decreased performance capability and should be considered by the hypohydrated athlete. Whilst hypohydration did not affect fatigue-related performance of the knee extensors, the additive changes associated with lower baseline levels of strength performance (7.8%) and fatigue (11.6%) coupled with slower rate of muscle force production (from 0–100 ms) following fatigue may present significant challenges to the maintenance of dynamic knee joint stability, particularly at this vulnerable joint position.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire J. Brady ◽  
Andrew J. Harrison ◽  
Eamonn P. Flanagan ◽  
G. Gregory Haff ◽  
Thomas M. Comyns

Purpose:To examine the relationships between the isometric midthigh pull (IMTP), isometric squat (ISqT), and sprint acceleration performance in track-and-field sprinters and to determine whether there are differences between men and women.Methods:Fifteen male and 10 female sprinters performed 3 maximal-effort IMTPs, ISqTs, and 3 × 30-m sprints from blocks.Results:Among the men, the results showed significant negative correlations between IMTP and ISqT peak force; relative peak force; force at 100, 150, and 200 ms; rate of force development (0–150 and 0–200 ms); and impulse (0–200 ms) and 0- to 5-m time (r = −.517 to −.714;P < .05). IMTP impulse (B = −0.582,P = .023) and ISqT relative peak force (B = −0.606,P = .017) significantly predicted 0- to 5-m time. Among the women, no IMTP or ISqT variables significantly correlated with any sprint times. Men measured significantly higher than women for all IMTP measures except relative peak force. Men were significantly faster than women at all splits. When comparing measures of the ISqT, there were no significant differences between men and women.Conclusions:Variables measured during the IMTP and ISqT significantly correlated with 0- to 5-m sprint performance in male athletes. Isometric strength can have a sizable influence on 0- to 5-m time, but in some cases, the maximum effect could be very small.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document