Differences in recovery process between adult and prepubertal males after a maximal isokinetic fatigue task

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kotzamanidou, M.^a | Michailidis, I.^a | Hatzikotoulas, K.^a | Hasani, A.^a | Bassa, E.^a | Kotzamanidis, C.^a

Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece

Note: [] Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 2310 992221; E-mail: kotzaman@phed.auth.gr

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in recovery between adult and prepubertal males after a maximal isokinetic fatigue protocol. Ten adults and 14 prebupertal boys exerted 25 subsequent maximal isokinetic knee extensions at 60°/s. The electromyogram (EMG) of the vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM) and biceps femoris (BF) was recorded. The obtained results showed that the Peak Torque (PT) decreased at a higher rate in adults compared to children. The recovery of PT, and the agonist muscle activity was faster in children in comparison to the men. No differences were observed in the recovery of the antagonist muscle between age groups. The findings indicated that the PT recovery is faster in children and this could be partially attributed to neural factors since in children the recovery of their agonist muscle activation was faster than adults.

Keywords: Adults, children, isokinetic, EMG, co-activation, recovery

DOI: 10.3233/IES-2005-0212

Journal: Isokinetics and Exercise Science, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 261-266, 2005