Affiliations: [a] Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China | [b] School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Weijie Fu, Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Sport, 200438 Shanghai, China. Tel.: +86 21 51253239; Fax: +86 21 51253242; E-mail:fuweijie315@163.com; fuweijie@sus.edu.cn
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The mechanism by which increased compression affects
muscle strength and electromyographic (EMG) time/frequency domain behavior
during prolonged muscle actions has yet to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of compression on
quadriceps strength and endurance and EMG amplitude/frequency of the
quadriceps during repeated concentric muscle contractions. METHODS: Twelve healthy male athletes executed 25 maximal repeated
isokinetic knee extensions in compression garment (CG) and control condition
(CC) at 60 and 300°/s on a dynamometer. The EMG time and frequency
domain behavior of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), and
vastus medialis were collected synchronously. RESULTS: Compression exerted no significant effect on peak moment
and total work during the isokinetic contractions. By contrast, the overall
EMG root mean square amplitude was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in CG than
in CC while the EMG mean power frequency of the RF and VL was significantly
higher (p < 0.05) in CG than in CC at 60°/s. CONCLUSION: The described effects may potentially improve muscle
endurance and fatigue resistance during prolonged muscle actions.
Keywords: Compression pressure, isokinetic muscle strength, electromyography, mean power frequency
