ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Athletes’ muscles can be weakened by fatigue caused by excessive activity. This limitation compromises their functional capacity and professional performance. The competition's performance correlates positively with muscular quality of function. The changes analysis caused by different athletic activities in muscle contraction by noninvasive tensiomyography reflects the functional state of the muscles. Still, no experiments are adapted to verify the fatigue risk level.
Objective:
Verify the possible relationship between exercise and neuromuscular fatigue using noninvasive tensiomyography.
Methods:
90 athletes were randomly selected in weightlifting, badminton, and athletics sports. Maximum radial displacement, contraction, delay, duration, and relaxation time indices were collected. Muscle fatigue detection was based on the empirical mode decomposition modeling method with the Rogers sensitivity fluctuation rate. All values were collected in the rectus femoris muscle before and after the exercises. They were statistically treated and compared (P<0.05).
Results:
All athletes showed a decline in maximum radial displacement values after exercise. It reveals that their muscles are in a considerable state of tension, especially in the track and field group (from 8.57±3.42mm to 5.43±2.14mm). However, the slightest change in delay time was observed in the weightlifting group (16.21±4.15ms initial versus 18.34±3.27ms final).
Conclusion:
Through tensiomyography technology, it is possible to obtain a relationship between exercise and neuromuscular fatigue, analyzing the physical activity effects in a noninvasive way. Evidence Level II; Therapeutic Studies - Investigating the result.
Keywords:
Sports; Athletic Injuries; Electrodiagnosis; Muscular Fatigue