| 1. |
- Bjerkefors, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Deep and superficial abdominal muscle activation during trunk stabilization exercises with and without instruction to hollow.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Manual Therapy. - : Elsevier BV. - 1356-689X .- 1532-2769. ; 15:5, s. 502-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The deepest muscle of the human ventro-lateral abdominal wall, the Transversus Abdominis (TrA), has been ascribed a specific role in spine stabilization, which has motivated special core stability exercises and hollowing instruction to specifically involve this muscle. The purpose here was to evaluate the levels of activation of the TrA and the superficial Rectus Abdominis (RA) muscles during five common stabilization exercises performed in supine, bridging and four-point kneeling positions, with and without instruction to hollow, i.e. to continuously pull the lower part of the abdomen towards the spine. Nine habitually active women participated and muscle activity was recorded bilaterally from TrA and RA with intramuscular fine-wire electrodes introduced under the guidance of ultrasound. Results showed that subjects were able to selectively increase the activation of the TrA, isolated from the RA, with the specific instruction to hollow and that side differences in the amplitude of TrA activity, related to the asymmetry of the exercises, remained even after the instruction to hollow. The exercises investigated caused levels of TrA activation from 4 to 43% of that during maximal effort and can thus be used clinically to grade the load on the TrA when designing programs aiming at training that muscle.
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| 2. |
- Broström, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Plantar- and dorsiflexor strength in prepubertal girls with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-9993 .- 1532-821X. ; 85:8, s. 1224-30
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To compare lower-leg strength of young girls with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) with that of healthy, age-matched controls. DESIGN: Isometric and isokinetic strength tests of the plantar- and dorsiflexors. All strength measures were made at an ankle angle of 90 degrees. Isokinetic plantar- and dorsiflexor measures were made at 15 degrees/s during shortening (concentric) and lengthening (eccentric) actions. SETTING: Strength testing laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Ten prepubertal girls diagnosed with JIA and 10 healthy girls. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Isometric and isokinetic plantar- and dorsiflexor strength. RESULTS: Isometric plantar- and dorsiflexion torques were significantly lower (48% and 38% respectively; P<.05) for the children with JIA than for the controls. The JIA group also produced lower shortening plantarflexion torques (52%, P<.05). Lengthening plantarflexor torques did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (P<.05). Controls were stronger than the JIA group for both shortening and lengthening maximal dorsiflexor actions (P<.05). All children were 4 to 5 times stronger in plantarflexion than in dorsiflexion. CONCLUSIONS: Girls with JIA had significantly less plantar- and dorsiflexor strength than age-matched, healthy peers. The reduced strength of children with JIA is likely to affect function in daily activities and probably contributes to reduced levels of physical activity.
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| 3. |
- Crommert, Martin Eriksson, et al.
(författare)
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Activation of transversus abdominis varies with postural demand in standing
- 2011
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Ingår i: Gait & Posture. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0966-6362 .- 1879-2219. ; 33:3, s. 473-477
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transversus abdominis (TrA) is a multifunctional muscle, being involved in pressure regulation within the abdominal cavity and thereby in direction independent stabilization of the spine and resistance to imposed trunk flexion moments. Indirect evidence suggests a role of TrA also in postural control of the erect human trunk. The main purpose here was to investigate if the magnitude of TrA activation is related to postural demand. Eleven healthy males performed seven different symmetrical static bilateral arm positions holding 3kg in each hand. The arm positions were selected to systematically vary the height of the centre of mass (COM) keeping imposed moments constant and vice versa. EMG was recorded bilaterally with fine-wire intramuscular electrodes from TrA and obliquus internus (OI) and with surface electrodes from rectus abdominis (RA) and erector spinae (ES). Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) was measured via a pressure transducer in the gastric ventricle. TrA was the only muscle that displayed activation co-varying with the vertical position of the COM. Further, TrA activation increased, together with IAP and ES activation, with imposed flexion moment, i.e. with arms extended horizontally forward. In contrast to OI, RA and ES, TrA activation was independent of the direction of the imposed moment (arms held inclined forward or backward). In conclusion, TrA activation level is uniquely associated with increased postural demand caused by elevated COM. Also, TrA appears to assist in counteracting trunk flexion via increased IAP, and contribute to general spine stabilization when the trunk is exposed to moderate flexion and extension moments.
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| 4. |
- Ekblom, Maria M Nordlund, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of prolonged vibration on H-reflexes, muscle activation, and dynamic strength.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. - 0195-9131 .- 1530-0315. ; 43:10, s. 1933-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neural activation is generally lower during maximal voluntary lengthening compared with shortening and isometric muscle actions, but the mechanisms underlying these differences are unclear. In maximal voluntary isometric actions, reduced Ia-afferent input induced by prolonged tendon vibration has been shown to impair neural activation and strength. PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate whether reducing Ia-afferent input influences neural activation in maximal voluntary dynamic muscle actions and, if so, whether it affects shortening and lengthening muscle actions differently. METHODS: Eight women participated in three familiarization sessions and two randomly ordered experiments. In one experiment, 30-min vibration at 100 Hz was applied to the Achilles tendon to decrease Ia-afferent input as measured by the H-reflex. In the control experiment, rest substituted the vibration. Root mean square EMG from plantar and dorsiflexor muscles and plantar flexor strength were measured during maximal voluntary plantar flexor shortening and lengthening actions (20°·s(-1)) before and after vibration and rest, respectively. Soleus H-reflexes and M-waves were elicited before each set of strength tests. RESULTS: The vibration caused a decrease in H-reflex amplitude by, on the average, 33%, but root mean square EMG and plantar flexor strength remained largely unaffected in both action types. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Ia-afferent input may not substantially contribute to maximal voluntary dynamic muscle strength of the plantar flexor muscles, as tested here, and thus, the results do not support the notion that Ia-afferent excitation would contribute differently to neural activation in maximal voluntary lengthening and shortening muscle actions.
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| 5. |
- Löscher, Wolfgang N, et al.
(författare)
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Central fatigue and motor cortical excitability during repeated shortening and lengthening actions.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Muscle and Nerve. - : Wiley. - 0148-639X .- 1097-4598. ; 25:6, s. 864-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A decline in voluntary muscle activation and adaptations in motor cortical excitability contribute to the progressive decline in voluntary force during sustained isometric contractions. However, the neuronal control of muscle activation differs between isometric and dynamic contractions. This study was designed to investigate voluntary activation, motor cortex excitability, and intracortical inhibition during fatiguing concentric and eccentric actions. Eight subjects performed 143 torque motor-controlled, repeated shortening and lengthening actions of the elbow flexor muscles. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied three times every 20 cycles. Magnetic evoked motor potentials (MEP), duration of the silent period (SP), and the torque increase due to TMS were analyzed. TMS resulted in a small torque increase in unfatigued actions. With repeated actions, voluntary torque dropped rapidly and the amplitude of the TMS-induced twitches increased, especially during repeated lengthening actions. MEP area of biceps brachii and brachioradialis muscles increased during repeated actions to a similar extent during lengthening and shortening fatigue. The duration of biceps and brachioradialis SP did not change with fatigue. Thus, voluntary activation became suboptimal during fatiguing dynamic actions and motor cortex excitability increased without any changes in intracortical inhibition. The apparent dissociation of voluntary activation and motor cortex excitability suggests that the central fatigue observed, especially during lengthening actions, did not result from changes in motor cortex excitability.
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| 6. |
- Nordlund Ekblom, Maria M, et al.
(författare)
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Central and peripheral contributions to fatigue in relation to level of activation during repeated maximal voluntary isometric plantar flexions
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985). - : American Physiological Society. - 8750-7587 .- 1522-1601. ; 96:1, s. 218-225
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aimed to investigate central and peripheral contributions to fatigue during repeated maximal voluntary isometric plantar flexions (MVCs). Changes in joint torque, level of activation (LOA), resting twitch amplitude (RT), electromyographic signals (EMG), and presynaptic inhibition of Ia afferents were investigated during 9 bouts of 10 MVCs. MVCs lasted for 2 s and were separated by 1 s. The interval between bouts was 10 s. Electrical stimulation was applied to the tibial nerve; at rest to evoke RTs, M waves, and two (1.5-s interval) H reflexes; with the soleus EMG at 30% of that during MVC to evoke M waves and two H reflexes; and during MVCs to measure LOA. Over the nine bouts, LOA decreased by 12.6% and RT by 16.2%. EMG root mean square during MVCs remained unchanged for the soleus and tibialis anterior muscles, but it decreased for medial gastrocnemius. Peripheral fatigue (decrease in RT) was positively correlated to LOA, whereas central fatigue (decrease in LOA) was not. Depression of both H reflexes suggests that presynaptic inhibition after the first bout was partly induced by homosynaptic postactivation depression of the Ia terminal. The H-reflex-to-M-wave ratio increased with fatigue in both passive and active states, with no change in the ratio of the second H reflex to the first, thereby indicating a decrease of presynaptic inhibition during fatigue. The results indicate that both central and peripheral mechanisms contributed to the fatigue observed during repeated MVCs and that the development of peripheral fatigue was influenced by the level of voluntary activation and initial plantar flexor torque.
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| 7. |
- Nordlund Ekblom, Maria M, et al.
(författare)
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Concurrent EMG feedback acutely improves strength and muscle activation
- 2012
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Ingår i: European Journal of Applied Physiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1439-6319 .- 1439-6327. ; 112:5, s. 1899-1905
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effects of electromyographic (EMG) feedback on muscle activation and strength during maximal voluntary concentric and eccentric muscle actions. 15 females performed two sets of three lengthening and three shortening maximal voluntary isokinetic knee extensions at 20A degrees A s(-1) over 60A degrees range of motion. After the first set, subjects were randomized to either a control group (n = 8) or a feedback group (n = 7). In the second set, the control group performed tasks identical to those in the first set, whereas the feedback group additionally received concurrent visual feedback of the EMGrms from Vastus Medialis (VM). Knee extensor strength and EMG activation of VM, Vastus lateralis (VL) and hamstrings (HAM) were measured during the MVCs. Analyses were performed separately in a 1 s preactivation phase, a 1 s initial movement phase and a 1 s late movement phase. EMG feedback was associated with significantly higher knee extensor strength in all phases (20.5% p < 0.05, 18.2% p < 0.001 and 19% p < 0.001, respectively) for the eccentric MVCs and in the preactivation phase (16.3%, p < 0.001) and initial movement phases (7.2%, p < 0.05) for concentric MVCs. EMG feedback from VM further improved activation in VM and HAM but not VL. These findings suggested that concurrent visual EMG feedback from VM could acutely enhance muscle strength and activation. Before recommending implementation of EMG feedback in resistance training paradigms, the feedback parameters needs to be optimized and its long-term effects needs to be scrutinized.
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| 8. |
- Nordlund Ekblom, Maria M, et al.
(författare)
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Conditioning Ia-afferent stimulation reduces the soleus Hoffman reflex in humans when muscle spindles are assumed to be inactive.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Neuroscience Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3940 .- 1872-7972. ; 366:3, s. 250-3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite higher neural activation during active as compared to passive muscle shortening, Hoffman reflexes (H-reflexes) are similar. This may be explained by homosynaptic post-activation depression (HPAD) of Ia-afferents being present during active shortening. Accordingly, it was investigated whether conditioning electrical stimulation of the tibial nerve reduced the H-reflex less during active than passive shortening. The effects of two conditioning modes (0.2 and 1 Hz) were compared to a control mode without conditioning. H-reflexes and M-waves were elicited as the ankle passed 90 degrees with the soleus muscle undergoing passive or active (20% MVC) lengthening or shortening. Conditioning had no effect during active shortening. In contrast, during passive shortening, the H:M of the 1 Hz mode was significantly less than that of the 0.2 Hz and control modes. In lengthening, H:M was unaffected by conditioning. These findings support that HPAD reduces the synaptic efficacy of Ia-afferents during active shortening, active and passive lengthening, but not passive shortening.
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| 9. |
- Nordlund Ekblom, Maria M
(författare)
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Improvements in dynamic plantar flexor strength after resistance training are associated with increased voluntary activation and V : M ratio.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of applied physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 8750-7587 .- 1522-1601. ; 109:1, s. 19-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate if, and via what mechanisms, resistance training of the plantar flexor muscles affects voluntary activation during maximal voluntary eccentric and concentric muscle actions. Twenty healthy subjects were randomized into a resistance training group (N = 9) or a passive control group (N = 11). Training consisted of 15 sessions of unilateral mainly eccentric plantar flexor exercise over a 5-week period. During pre- and post-training testing, dynamic plantar flexor strength was measured and voluntary activation was calculated using the twitch interpolation technique. The Soleus H-reflex was used to assess motoneurone excitability and presynaptic inhibition of Ia-afferents whereas the Soleus V-wave to test for both changes in presynaptic inhibition of Ia-afferents and changes in supraspinal inputs to the motoneurone pool. H-reflexes, V-waves, supramaximal M-waves and twitches were evoked as the foot was moved at 5 degrees (.)s(-1) through an angle of 90 degrees during passive ankle rotations (passive H and M) and during maximal voluntary concentric and eccentric plantar flexion (MVC H, M and V-wave). Training induced significant improvements in plantar flexor strength and voluntary activation during both concentric and eccentric maximal voluntary actions. Soleus passive and MVC H:M ratios remained unchanged after training, whereas the Soleus V:M ratio was increased during both concentric and eccentric contractions after training. No change was seen in the control group for any of the parameters. The enhanced voluntary strength could be attributed partly to an increase in voluntary activation induced by eccentric training. Since the passive and MVC H:M ratios remained unchanged, the increase in activation is probably not due to decreased presynaptic inhibition. The increased V:M ratio for both action types indicate, that increased voluntary drive from supraspinal centers and/or modulation in afferents other than Ia:s, may have contributed to such an increase in voluntary activation.
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| 10. |
- Nordlund Ekblom, Maria M, et al.
(författare)
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Variations in the soleus H-reflex as a function of activation during controlled lengthening and shortening actions.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Brain Research. - 0006-8993 .- 1872-6240. ; 952:2, s. 301-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of soleus activation on the soleus H-reflex was investigated during controlled lengthening and shortening of the plantar flexor muscles. Maximal H-reflexes and M-waves were evoked at the same muscle length (ankle angle 90 degrees ) during lengthening and shortening (ankle angular velocity 5 degrees s(-1)) with soleus either passive or with its electromyographic activity at 10, 20 and 30% of that during a maximal voluntary isometric plantar flexion. In passive trials, the H(MAX):M(MAX) ratio during lengthening was lower than during shortening. In active trials at 10 and 20%, the H(MAX):M(MAX) ratio tended to be lower during lengthening than shortening. Within the active trials, H(MAX):M(MAX) ratios were not different between the three levels of soleus activation, neither for lengthening nor shortening actions. When all active trials were pooled, the lengthening H(MAX):M(MAX) ratio was significantly lower than the shortening one. In lengthening, the H(MAX):M(MAX) ratio increased in the active with respect to the passive condition, whereas no change occurred in active with respect to the passive shortening. These results indicate action type specificity in the way the Ia-excitatory effect is modulated as the soleus muscle is voluntarily activated.
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