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Published on: February 20, 2018
Relationships between force and muscle oxygenation kinetics during sustained static gripping using a progressive
Shinichi Demura1, Masakatsu Nakada
1Graduate School of Natural Science & Technology, Kanazawa University, Japan.
This study investigated muscle fatigue and oxygenation during gripping. Muscle oxygenation changes were minimal even at higher workloads, with significant correlations found between muscle deoxygenation and force production metrics.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Muscle Physiology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Understanding muscle fatigue and oxygenation is crucial for optimizing physical performance and preventing injury.
- Sustained static gripping is a common activity with implications for various occupational and athletic tasks.
- Progressive workload protocols help elucidate physiological responses to increasing physical demands.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between grip force, subjective muscle-fatigue sensation (SMS), and muscle oxygenation kinetics.
- To investigate physiological responses during sustained static gripping under a progressive workload.
- To determine correlations between muscle deoxygenation and force production parameters.
Main Methods:
- 10 male subjects performed sustained static gripping at increasing workloads (20%–80% MVC).
- Subjective muscle-fatigue sensation (SMS) was measured using Borg's scale.
- Muscle oxygenation was monitored using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess Oxy-Hb/Mb and Deoxy-Hb/Mb.
- Force production (Peak Force Time, Average Force) was recorded.
Main Results:
- Time to minimum oxygenated hemoglobin/myoglobin (Oxy-Hb/Mb) was approximately 50s; time to maximum deoxygenated hemoglobin/myoglobin (Deoxy-Hb/Mb) occurred later at 90s.
- Significant high correlations (r=0.632–0.721) were observed between time to maximum Deoxy-Hb/Mb and force production metrics.
- Total Hb/Mb and Oxy-Hb/Mb kinetics showed relatively small changes, suggesting blood volume obstruction may not occur during this progressive workload.
Conclusions:
- The contraction time after peak subjective muscle-fatigue sensation is relatively short.
- Individual differences in force production become more pronounced as subjective muscle-fatigue sensation peaks.
- Muscle oxygenation kinetics during progressive static gripping may not be significantly limited by blood flow obstruction within the tested range.
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