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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Measuring the Motor Aspect of Cancer-Related Fatigue using a Handheld Dynamometer
Published on: February 20, 2020
Electrically induced torque decrease reflects more than muscle fatigue
Maria Papaiordanidou1, Jean-Damien Stevenot, Valerie Mustacchi
1UMR7287, Institut des Sciences du Mouvement, CNRS, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Aix-Marseille University, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288, Marseille, France.
Abstract:
The aim of the study was to compare the fatigue induced by different electrical stimulation (ES) protocols. The triceps surae muscle of 8 healthy subjects was fatigued with 4 protocols (30 Hz-500 μs, 30 Hz-1 ms, 100 Hz-1 ms, and 100 Hz-500 μs), composed of 60 trains (4 s on-6 s off), delivered at an intensity evoking 30% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). Fatigue was quantified by ES and MVC torque decreases. The amplitude of the twitch delivered at the intensity and pulse width used in each fatiguing protocol (twitch at Istim ) was analyzed. All parameters decreased significantly after all protocols. The ES torque decrease correlated positively with the twitch decrease elicited at Istim only for the 30-Hz protocols. Results show that, during the 100-Hz protocols, phenomena not related to the fatigue of the solicited motor units may occur, including changes in the excitability threshold of the axonal terminal branches.
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