Acute effect of tendon vibration applied during isometric contraction at two knee angles on maximal knee extension force production

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 15; no. 11; p. e0242324
• Main Authors: Harnie, Jonathan, Cattagni, Thomas, Cornu, Christophe, McNair, Peter, Jubeau, Marc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 13.11.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Amplitudes; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomechanical Phenomena; Electromyography; Exercise; Fatigue; Female; Force; Human health and pathology; Humans; Interpolation; Isometric Contraction; Isometric exercise; Knee; Knee - physiology; Knee muscles; Life Sciences; Male; Mechanical Phenomena; Medicine and Health Sciences; Motor task performance; Muscle contraction; Muscle Fatigue; Muscles; Muscular fatigue; Physical fitness; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Physiological research; Reduction; Tendon; Tendons - physiology; Tissues and Organs; Vibration; Vibration (Physics); Young Adult; France; Knee; Force production; Tendon vibration
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242324

The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of a single session of prolonged tendon vibration combined with low submaximal isometric contraction on maximal motor performance. Thirty-two young sedentary adults were assigned into two groups that differed based on the knee angle tested: 90° or 150° (180° = full knee extension). Participants performed two fatigue-inducing exercise protocols: one with three 10 min submaximal (10% of maximal voluntary contraction) knee extensor contractions and patellar tendon vibration (80 Hz) another with submaximal knee extensor contractions only. Before and after each fatigue protocol, maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVC), voluntary activation level (assessed by the twitch interpolation technique), peak-to-peak amplitude of maximum compound action potentials of vastus medialis and vastus lateralis (assessed by electromyography with the use of electrical nerve stimulation), peak twitch amplitude and peak doublet force were measured. The knee extensor fatigue was significantly (P<0.05) greater in the 90° knee angle group (-20.6% MVC force, P<0.05) than the 150° knee angle group (-8.3% MVC force, P = 0.062). Both peripheral and central alterations could explain the reduction in MVC force at 90° knee angle. However, tendon vibration added to isometric contraction did not exacerbate the reduction in MVC force. These results clearly demonstrate that acute infrapatellar tendon vibration using a commercial apparatus operating at optimal conditions (i.e. contracted and stretched muscle) does not appear to induce knee extensor neuromuscular fatigue in young sedentary subjects.