This study's aims were (1) to test whether training on an arm ergometer improves motor performance, and (2) to develop a technique to quantify individual muscle spasticity. Nine patients with a stabilized hemisyndrome (in average 22 months after ischemic stroke in the territory of middle cerebral artery) underwent a 3-week training on an arm ergometer, 5 days/week. The patients were tested one ...

OBJECTIVE To determine velocity specific isokinetic forces and cross sectional areas of reciprocal muscle groups in Olympic weight lifters. METHODS The cross sectional area of the flexor or extensor muscles of the elbow or knee joint was determined by a B-mode ultrasonic apparatus in 34 college weight lifters and 31 untrained male subjects matched for age. Maximum voluntary force produced in ...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of eccentric exercise on the ability to exert steady submaximal forces with muscles that cross the elbow joint. Eight subjects performed two tasks requiring isometric contraction of the right elbow flexors: a maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) and a constant-force task at four submaximal target forces (5, 20, 35, 50% MVC) while electromyogr...

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of practice on time to failure of a submaximal contraction with the elbow flexor muscles and on reflex inhibition from brachioradialis afferents onto biceps brachii motor neurons. Fifteen subjects practiced sustaining an isometric contraction (20% of maximum) with the elbow flexors until failure. Spike-triggered stimulation was used to asses...

BACKGROUND Tendon transfer is a surgical technique for restoring upper limb motor control in patients with cervical spinal cord injuries (SCI), and offers a rare window into cortical neuroplasticity following regained arm and hand function. OBJECTIVE Here, we aimed to examine neuroplasticity mechanisms related to re-established voluntary motor control of thumb flexion following tendon transfe...

1. Muscle fatigue can be defined as any exercise-induced loss of ability to produce force with a muscle or muscle group. It involves processes at all levels of the motor pathway between the brain and the muscle. Central fatigue represents the failure of the nervous system to drive the muscle maximally. It is defined as a progressive exercise-induced reduction in voluntary activation or neural d...

OBJECTIVES Spasticity can contribute to poor recovery of upper limb function after stroke. This is a preliminary evaluation of the impact of botulinum toxin treatment on disability caused by upper limb spasticity after stroke. METHODS Seventeen patients with severe spasticity and a non-functioning arm were treated with intramuscular botulinum A neurotoxin (median age at treatment 54.5 years; ...

UNLABELLED To examine the effect of a 10-week upper-body resistance training program on bone turnover markers and site-specific bone mineral density (BMD) in the wrist and distal half of the ulna and radius in untrained and healthy young premenopausal women. METHODS Twenty-two subjects (aged 22.1 ± 1.8 years) were randomly assigned to a resistance training (n = 12) or no training control (n =...

Resistance training (RT) offers benefits to both men and women. However, the studies about the differences between men and women in response to an RT program are not conclusive and few data are available about upper body strength response. The aim of this study was to compare elbow flexor strength gains in men and women after 10 weeks of RT. Forty-four college-aged men (22.63 ± 2.34 years) and ...

The purpose of this article was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of radial and focused shock wave therapies applied to treat tennis elbow. Patients with tennis elbow were randomized into two comparative groups: focused shock wave therapy (FSWT; n=25) and radial shock wave therapy (RSWT; n=25). Subjects in the FSWT and RSWT groups were applied with a focused shock wave (3 sessions, 2000 shoc...