Peak power of muscles injured by lengthening contractions

Excessive or extreme lengthening contractions have a well-characterized depressive effect on skeletal muscle isometric force. In addition to producing force, active muscles must often shorten in order to meet the power requirements of locomotion and other physical activities. However, the impact of lengthening contractions on muscle power is poorly understood. We evaluated the effect of 20 isometric contractions or 20 lengthening contractions (20% strain at 1.5 fiber lengths/s) on the force-velocity-power relationships of mouse soleus muscles in vitro at 35 degrees C. Pre- and posttreatment data were obtained as the muscles shortened through their optimal length (Lo). The isometric treatment did not alter Lo, the curvature of the force-velocity relationship (a/Po), or soleus maximal shortening velocity (Vmax), whereas peak force (Po) displayed a slow, time-dependent decline of 10% across the experiments. Following the lengthening treatment, Lo increased by 6%, a/Po increased by 22%, and Vmax and Po fell by 24% and 26%, respectively. Under optimal conditions for producing power, muscles damaged by lengthening contractions attained 22% less force and shortened 20% more slowly than before damage. Consequently, soleus peak power fell 37% after lengthening, a 2.5-fold greater decline than noted for the isometric treatment. Under the conditions studied here, the excessive power loss following lengthening contractions was due to force and velocity deficits of approximately equal relative magnitude. Because power represents the ability of the muscle to perform work, reductions in both force and shortening velocity should be considered when evaluating and treating lengthening-induced skeletal muscle injuries.