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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Dissection of Single Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Immunofluorescent and Morphometric Analyses of Whole-Mount Neuromuscular Junctions

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Neuromuscular adaptations induced by adjacent joint training.

R Ema^1,2, I Saito³, R Akagi^1,3

¹Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan.

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

|November 9, 2017

Summary

Hip flexion training significantly improves knee extension strength and muscle thickness, similar to direct knee extension training. This suggests neuromuscular adaptations can occur in adjacent joints following resistance exercise.

Keywords:

electromyography hip flexion isometric training knee extension maximal strength rate of torque development rectus femoris muscle training specificity

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Area of Science:

Exercise Physiology
Neuromuscular Adaptations
Sports Science

Background:

Resistance training effects are task-specific.
Adaptations in adjacent joints after training are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if hip flexion training induces neuromuscular adaptations in knee extension.
Compare hip flexion training effects with knee extension training on the rectus femoris.

Main Methods:

37 untrained men were divided into hip flexion, knee extension, or control groups.
4 weeks of isometric training were performed.
Maximal and explosive knee extension strength, muscle thickness, and voluntary activation were measured.

Main Results:

Both hip flexion and knee extension training significantly increased maximal and explosive knee extension strength and rectus femoris muscle thickness.
Improvements in strength correlated with enhanced voluntary activation.
No significant differences were found between the two training groups for explosive torques or neural variables.

Conclusions:

Hip flexion training induces substantial neuromuscular adaptations in knee extension, comparable to direct knee extension training.
This indicates that training adjacent joints can lead to beneficial strength gains in the targeted muscle group.