Abstract.
Reflex inhibition of the motoneuron pool following fatiguing contractions may be mediated by the build-up of byproducts of fatigue. Endurance training is accompanied by neuromuscular adaptations that would alter the production and/or clearance of metabolic substrates. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent of reflex inhibition during and after fatigue in endurance-trained individuals compared to sedentary controls. Subjects produced isometric ankle plantarflexion contractions at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) until their MVC torque declined by 30%. H-reflexes were measured during a brief rest period every 3 min as well as superimposed upon the contraction every minute. Both groups of subjects experienced a similar amount of reflex inhibition by the end of the fatiguing protocol, although the endurance time was twice as long for the endurance-trained subjects. The endurance-trained subjects showed a greater reduction in H-reflex amplitude early in the fatiguing protocol compared to the sedentary subjects. These experiments have demonstrated that the neuromuscular processes associated with fatigue-related reflex inhibition must be multi-faceted and cannot be explained solely by small-diameter afferents responding to the byproducts of muscle contraction.
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Walton, D.M., Kuchinad, R.A., Ivanova, T.D. et al. Reflex inhibition during muscle fatigue in endurance-trained and sedentary individuals. Eur J Appl Physiol 87, 462–468 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-002-0670-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-002-0670-9