Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

Measuring the Motor Aspect of Cancer-Related Fatigue using a Handheld Dynamometer
Published on: February 20, 2020
Fatigue and recovery from dynamic contractions in men and women differ for arm and leg muscles
Jonathon Senefeld1, Tejin Yoon, Marie Hoeger Bement
1Department of Physical Therapy, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201, USA.
Introduction:
Whether there is a gender difference in fatigue and recovery from maximal velocity fatiguing contractions and across muscles is not understood.
Methods:
Sixteen men and 19 women performed 90 isotonic contractions at maximal voluntary shortening velocity (maximal velocity concentric contractions, MVCC) with the elbow flexor and knee extensor muscles (separate days) at a load equivalent to 20% maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC).
Results:
Power (from MVCCs) decreased similarly for men and women for both muscles (P > 0.05). Men and women had similar declines in MVIC of elbow flexors, but men had greater reductions in knee extensor MVIC force and MVIC electromyogram activity than women (P < 0.05). The decline in MVIC and power was greater, and force recovery was slower for the elbow flexors compared with knee extensors.
Conclusions:
The gender difference in muscle fatigue often observed during isometric tasks was diminished during fast dynamic contractions for upper and lower limb muscles.
Related Concept Videos
Muscle Recovery and Fatigue
Exercise and Muscle Performance
Endurance exercises
Endurance exercises involve running, swimming, or cycling, which require repetitive movements with low force output. When a person engages in endurance exercise, a few noticeable changes occur in their skeletal muscles. For instance, the number of capillaries...
Energy Supply for Muscle Contraction
Isotonic and Isometric Muscle Contractions
Isotonic contractions
Isotonic contractions occur when a muscle changes length while the...
Classification of Skeletal Muscle Fibers
Slow-Twitch Muscle Fibers
Slow oxidative, muscle fibers appear red due to large numbers of capillaries and high levels of...
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...

