title: Contractile properties and fatiguability of the human adductor pollicis and first dorsal interosseus: a comparison of the effects of two chronic stimulation patterns.
abstract: We have developed a method for simultaneously measuring the isometric force of the adductor pollicis (AP) and first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscles of the hand. Both muscles were found to have very similar force-frequency relationships, relaxation rates and fatigue indices. The effect of 2 patterns of chronic electrical stimulation on the force production, contractile properties and fatiguability of the AP and FDI were compared in 2 groups of 5 subjects. One pattern consisted of uniform 10 Hz stimulation and the other a random pattern containing a few high frequency bursts against an essentially low frequency background. Both patterns were found to increase the fatigue resistance of both muscles by approximately 30% and caused a smaller and less consistent shift in the force-frequency relationship such that more force was generated at low frequencies of stimulation. There was a decrease in both the maximum voluntary and tetanic force after stimulation with the uniform 10 Hz but not the non-uniform patterns. The maintenance of force with the latter pattern may be due to the presence of the high frequency bursts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University College London, U.K.
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Rutherford
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009126:Muscle Relaxation; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D009928:Organ Specificity