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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Bilateral Assessment of the Corticospinal Pathways of the Ankle Muscles Using Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: February 19, 2019
The effects of motor adaptation on ankle isokinetic assessments in older drivers
Angelica Castilho Alonso1,2, Guilherme Carlos Brech1,2, Rita de Cássia Ernandes2
1Laboratorio de Estudos do Movimento, Instituto de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Hospital das Clínicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SP, BR.
Objectives:
This study sought to analyze the extent of motor adaptation in ankle plantar flexors and dorsiflexors among older drivers during clinical isokinetic testing.
Methods:
One hundred older adults (70.4±5.7 years) participated in two bilateral ankle plantar flexor and dorsiflexor isokinetic assessments at 30°/sec. Peak torque (PTQ), PTQ adjusted for body weight (PTQ/BW), and total work (TW) were analyzed.
Results:
On the dominant side, PTQ/BW and TW were significantly greater for the second plantar flexion test than were those for the first such test (p<0.001), whereas PTQ, PTQ/BW, and TW (p<0.001) were significantly greater for the second dorsiflexion test than were those for the first such test. On the non-dominant side, plantar flexion PTQ and TW were significantly lower for the second test than were those for the first test (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Older drivers demonstrated better performance with the dominant limb on the second test. The low variability in test execution showed the existence of a motor adaptation effect for the tested movements, despite the short recovery period between the assessments.
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