SPINAL CORD INJURY AND CONTRACTILE PROPERTIES OF THE HUMAN TIBIALIS ANTERIOR

Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 2005 · DOI: · Published: June 1, 2005

Spinal Cord Injury Physiology Rehabilitation

Simple Explanation

This study aimed to understand how spinal cord injury (SCI) affects the properties of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle, which is important for ankle movement. The researchers compared the TA muscle in people with SCI to those without, looking at how strong the muscle could contract and how quickly it got tired. They found that the TA muscle in people with SCI was weaker and slower to relax compared to the control group. This information can help develop better rehabilitation programs for paralyzed muscles.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

8 spinal cord injured (SCI) and 8 control individuals

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
SCI muscles produced lower forces overall but higher forces relative to maximal force at lower frequencies, shifting the force-frequency curve to the left.
2
The half-relaxation time was slower in the SCI muscles than in the control muscles.
3
Force loss and slowing of relaxation during the fatigue protocol were not significantly different between the two groups due to high variability in the SCI group.

Research Summary

The purpose of this study was to evaluate contractile properties of the tibialis anterior of paralyzed and non-paralyzed subjects. The SCI muscles produced lower forces overall, but higher forces relative to maximal force at lower frequencies, shifting the force-frequency curve of the SCI group to the left. The TA of the SCI group had slower contractile properties than the control group and fatigability was not significantly different between the SCI and control group.

Practical Implications

Rehabilitation Strategies

The protocol may be useful to assess training effects during rehabilitation of paralyzed muscle.

Personalized Treatment

Treatments and rehabilitative procedures should be tailored specifically to the patient due to the different muscle's reaction to disuse.

Further Research

Changes in calcium handling process and enzymatic activity, other protein changes, in addition to myosin ATPase, need to be investigated in future studies in order to clarify the conflicting results.

Study Limitations

1
High variability in the SCI group affected the results, particularly regarding fatigue characteristics.
2
Submaximal stimuli were likely used in both groups due to the protocol designed to eliminate pain for controls.
3
The study did not measure muscle temperature, which could have influenced contractile properties.

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