Voluntary Activation During Isokinetic Contractions in Subjects with Neuromotor Disorders
NCT ID: NCT04607174
Last Updated: 2024-10-24
Study Results
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Basic Information
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RECRUITING
NA
20 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2020-10-07
2024-12-31
Brief Summary
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Highly decreased activation has been observed in patients affected by various orthopaedic and neurological disorders. In these subjects, paresis may be caused or aggravated by primitive impairments of the central nervous system and/or, by stimuli arising from peripheral damaged tissues that inhibit the corticospinal or the intraspinal recruitment of motoneurones ("arthrogenous muscle weakness"). There are numerous investigations in the literature on activation measured during isometric contractions, while they are substantially missing as far as isokinetic concentric contractions are concerned. There are reasons to suppose that, contrary to what has been demonstrated for healthy subjects, in patients with various motor impairments the activation is diminished the more, the higher is the joint rotation speed.
The present study aims to investigate the amount of activation of the quadriceps femoris during subjectively maximal isometric contractions at 40° knee flexion (0°=complete extension) and isokinetic concentric contractions at an angular velocity of 100°/s in patients with various orthopaedic and neurologic conditions.
Activation will be measured on an isokinetic dynamometer, through the "interpolated twitch technique". This consists of stimulating a representative sample of the muscle belly through an electric shock. If the shock does not generate an extra force during contraction, all muscle fibres belonging to the sample reached by the electric shock can be claimed to be recruited at their tetanic frequency. Otherwise, following the stimulus, a twitch can be observed revealing submaximal voluntary recruitment of the muscle.
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Detailed Description
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Conditions
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Study Design
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NA
SINGLE_GROUP
DIAGNOSTIC
NONE
Study Groups
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Pathologic group
At least 20 participants with various neurologic or orthopaedic conditions (for example, hemiparesis post-stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic knee injuries, knee osteoarthritis) will be enrolled.
Pathologic group
Voluntary Activation level will be determined according to the interpolate twitch technique (ITT).
During isometric contractions (knee at 40° flexion), three electric shocks (doublets) will be delivered. The first shock will be delivered at rest before contraction. The second one will be delivered 3-4 s after the beginning of the effort. The third one will be delivered at rest 2-3 s after the contraction has ended. Two isometric contractions will be performed, with a 3-minute break.
Then, 3 consecutive continuous passive motion (CPM) extension-flexions of the knee joint (range 105-0°), and 3 isokinetic concentric contractions (ISOK) will be performed. During both CPM and ISOK an electric shock will be delivered during each repetition. The instant of stimulation will be determined in a way allowing the twitch moments to peak at exactly 40° of knee flexion during extension. The same procedure will be administered first to the affected limb, and then to the non-affected limb.
Interventions
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Pathologic group
Voluntary Activation level will be determined according to the interpolate twitch technique (ITT).
During isometric contractions (knee at 40° flexion), three electric shocks (doublets) will be delivered. The first shock will be delivered at rest before contraction. The second one will be delivered 3-4 s after the beginning of the effort. The third one will be delivered at rest 2-3 s after the contraction has ended. Two isometric contractions will be performed, with a 3-minute break.
Then, 3 consecutive continuous passive motion (CPM) extension-flexions of the knee joint (range 105-0°), and 3 isokinetic concentric contractions (ISOK) will be performed. During both CPM and ISOK an electric shock will be delivered during each repetition. The instant of stimulation will be determined in a way allowing the twitch moments to peak at exactly 40° of knee flexion during extension. The same procedure will be administered first to the affected limb, and then to the non-affected limb.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* ability to sign the informed consent form;
* ability to understand the instructions and to complete the motor task;
* voluntary knee flexion-extension range of at least 70°;
* maximal extension of angle \< 30° (0°=full extension, 180° sagittal tibio-femural angle).
Exclusion Criteria
* a history of epilepsy (to avoid the risk for seizures triggered by the stimuli);
* Mini Mental State Examination ≤27/30;
* implanted electro-sensitive devices;
* any orthopedic condition limiting the articular mobility or muscular strength of the lower limbs;
* current treatment with oral anticoagulant therapy (to avoid the risk for muscle hemorrhage);
* medium/serius osteoporosis (femoral Bone Mineral Density on the affected side, t-score \< (-3.5));
* familiarity with the testing method.
18 Years
70 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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Istituto Auxologico Italiano
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Luigi Tesio, Prof
MD, Director of the Department of Neuromotor Rehabilitation, Ospedale San Luca, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS; Full Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
Principal Investigators
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Luigi Tesio, MD, Full professor
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Istituto Auxologico Italiano
Locations
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Istituto Auxologico Italiano
Milan, MI, Italy
Countries
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Central Contacts
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Facility Contacts
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Chiara Malloggi, PhD
Role: backup
Viviana Rota, PhD
Role: backup
Stefano Scarano, MD, Research Fellow
Role: backup
References
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Babault N, Pousson M, Ballay Y, Van Hoecke J. Activation of human quadriceps femoris during isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2001 Dec;91(6):2628-34. doi: 10.1152/jappl.2001.91.6.2628.
Behrens M, Husmann F, Gube M, Felser S, Weippert M, Bruhn S, Zschorlich V, Mau-Moeller A. Intersession reliability of the interpolated twitch technique applied during isometric, concentric, and eccentric actions of the human knee extensor muscles. Muscle Nerve. 2017 Aug;56(2):324-327. doi: 10.1002/mus.25498. Epub 2017 Apr 12.
Behrens M, Mau-Moeller A, Mueller K, Heise S, Gube M, Beuster N, Herlyn PK, Fischer DC, Bruhn S. Plyometric training improves voluntary activation and strength during isometric, concentric and eccentric contractions. J Sci Med Sport. 2016 Feb;19(2):170-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2015.01.011. Epub 2015 Feb 4.
Beltman JG, Sargeant AJ, van Mechelen W, de Haan A. Voluntary activation level and muscle fiber recruitment of human quadriceps during lengthening contractions. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2004 Aug;97(2):619-26. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01202.2003. Epub 2004 Apr 9.
Fitzgerald GK, Piva SR, Irrgang JJ, Bouzubar F, Starz TW. Quadriceps activation failure as a moderator of the relationship between quadriceps strength and physical function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Feb 15;51(1):40-8. doi: 10.1002/art.20084.
Zarkou A, Stackhouse S, Binder-Macleod SA, Lee SCK. Comparison of techniques to determine human skeletal muscle voluntary activation. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2017 Oct;36:8-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2017.05.011. Epub 2017 Jun 8.
Wilder MR, Cannon J. Effect of age on muscle activation and twitch properties during static and dynamic actions. Muscle Nerve. 2009 May;39(5):683-91. doi: 10.1002/mus.21233.
Newham DJ, Hsiao SF. Knee muscle isometric strength, voluntary activation and antagonist co-contraction in the first six months after stroke. Disabil Rehabil. 2001 Jun 15;23(9):379-86. doi: 10.1080/0963828001006656.
Other Identifiers
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24C903
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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