The stretch-shortening cycle efficiency is dependent on the maturational stage

A eficiência do ciclo alongamento-encurtamento é dependente do estágio maturacional

Abstract

Maturation interferes with physiological and mechanical aspects of muscle contraction. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficiency of the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) between different maturation stages. One hundred forty six young people, with 72 boys and 74 girls, were recruited to participate in the study. Sexual maturation was measured and the group was stratified into adolescents (> 3 auto-tanner) and children (<2 auto-tanner). Squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance were measured to measure reactive force (RF) capacity, eccentric utilization ratio (EUR) and pre-stretch augmentation (PSAP). The children did not present statistical difference between SJ and CMJ (t₍₅₅₎= -1.93; ∆ = -0.61; 95% CI = -1.24 to -0.02; p = 0.058), while the adolescents presented higher performance of CMJ (t₍₈₉₎= -12.28; ∆ = -2.44; 95% CI = -2.84 to -2.05; p <0.001). In addition, adolescents had higher RF performance (t₍₁₄₄₎= 5.18; p <0.0001; 95% CI = 2.53 to 1.13), PSAP (t₍₁₄₄₎= 4.38; p <0.0001; 95% CI = 14.00 to 5.29) and EUR (t₍₁₄₄₎= 4.38; p <0.0001; 95% CI = 0.14 to 0.05). We conclude that more mature young people have better SSC utilization.

Key words
Muscle contraction; Athletic performance; Plyometric exercise; Sexual maturation; Puberty