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Updated: May 20, 2026

Muscle Imbalances: Testing and Training Functional Eccentric Hamstring Strength in Athletic Populations
Published on: May 1, 2018
Factors relating to gender specificity of unloading-induced declines in strength
Michael R Deschenes1, Raymond W McCoy, Katherine A Mangis
1Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795, USA. mrdesc@wm.edu
Introduction:
This investigation aimed to: (1) confirm whether women were more vulnerable to the negative neuromuscular adaptations elicited by muscle unloading and if so, (2) determine which physiological mechanism(s) explain those gender-related differences.
Methods:
Healthy young men (20.7 ± 0.3 years) and women (20.3 ± 0.3 years)-(N = 12/group)-participated by completing neuromuscular functional tests before and after 7 days of unloading.
Results:
During isokinetic testing of peak torque, work performed, and power, women displayed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater declines in performance than men at 1.05 and 2.09, but not 0.53 rads/s. During maximal isometric contractions, women experienced greater strength decrements. Similar gender-specific adaptations to unloading were found in EMG activity, but not muscle mass, neuromuscular transmission, or force relative to EMG.
Conclusions:
Women are more susceptible to the adaptations of muscle unloading, and disturbances in neural drive from the central nervous system are probably responsible.
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