Predictability of maximum voluntary isometric knee extension force from submaximal contractions in older adults

The purposes of this study were to develop and test a model describing the relationship between the central activation ratio (CAR; a measure of voluntary muscle activation) and percent maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC) force for old adults and to provide a method for more accurate determination of voluntary muscle activation failure. Twenty-one adults (ages 64-81) performed isometric testing of the quadriceps at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% MVC. During each contraction, a 100-HZ, 120-ms train of electrical pulses was delivered to the quadriceps muscle to quantify voluntary muscle activation. Similar to a young, healthy population (ages 20-35), a curvilinear relationship existed between the CAR and %MVC force for older adults. Predictions of subjects' MVCs using the linear model of CAR-%MVC force relationship generally demonstrated poor agreement with actual MVCs. Predictions of MVC from submaximal contractions (25%, 50%, and 75%) using a previously identified curvilinear young adult CAR-%MVC relationship were good [ICC (2,1): 0.81, 0.96, and 0.82, respectively]. Similar agreement was obtained from the curvilinear older adult CAR-%MVC relationship. These data suggest that the CAR-%MVC relationship is similar in young and older adult subjects and that curvilinear models of this relationship can predict MVC forces in older adults more accurately. Reexamination of the relationship between the CAR and %MVC force may allow a more accurate determination of how failure of voluntary muscle activation contributes to weakness in old adults.