title: Assessment of eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage of the elbow flexors by tensiomyography.
abstract: Exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) impairs maximal torque production which can cause a decline in athletic performance and/or mobility. EIMD is commonly assessed by using maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), creatine kinase (CK) and muscle soreness. We propose as an additional technique, tensiomyography (TMG), recently introduced to measure mechanical and muscle contractile characteristics. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of TMG in detecting changes in maximal torque following EIMD. Nineteen participants performed eccentric elbow flexions to achieve EIMD on the non- dominant arm and used the dominant elbow flexor as a control. TMG parameters, MVC and rate of torque development (RTD) were measured prior to EIMD and repeated for another six consecutive days. Creatine kinase, muscle soreness and limb girth were also measured during this period. Twenty four hours after inducing EIMD, MVC torque, RTD and TMG maximal displacement had significantly (p<0.01) declined by 37%, 44% and 31%, respectively. By day 6 MVC, RTD and TMG recovered to 12%, 24% and 17% of respective pre-EIMD values. In conclusion, as hypothesised TMG maximal displacement significantly followed other standard EIMD responses. This could therefore be useful in detecting muscle damage from impaired muscle function and its recovery following EIMD.
authors.affiliation: Health and Exercise Sciences Research Group, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK. a.m.hunter1@stir.ac.uk
authors.forename: Angus M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: Stuart D R
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Galloway
authors.forename: Iain J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tallent
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ditroilo
authors.forename: Malcolm M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Fairweather
authors.forename: Glyn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Howatson
mesh_terms: D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000503:physiopathology; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D018763:Muscle Fatigue; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009213:Myography / Q000379:methods*; D010807:Physical Endurance; D005082:Physical Exertion; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult