TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tenberg, Sarah
A1  - Nosaka, Kazunori
A1  - Wilke, Jan
T1  - The relationship between acute exercise-induced changes in extramuscular connective tissue thickness and delayed onset muscle soreness in healthy participants: A randomized controlled crossover trial
T2  - Sports Medicine - Open
N2  - Background: The extramuscular connective tissue (ECT) has been shown to play a significant role in mechanical force transmission between musculoskeletal structures. Due to this and owing to its tight connection with the underlying muscle, the ECT may be vulnerable to excessive loading. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of eccentric elbow flexor exercise on the morphology of the biceps brachii ECT. In view of the high nociceptive capacity of the ECT, an additional objective was to elucidate the potential relationship between ECT damage and the occurrence of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

Methods: Eleven healthy participants (♂ = 7; 24 ± 2 years) performed fatiguing dumbbell elbow flexor eccentric exercise (EE) for one arm and concentric exercise (CE) for the other arm in random order and with random arm allocation. Before, immediately after and 24–96 h post-exercise, maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque of the elbow flexors (dynamometer), pressure pain (algometer), palpation pain (100 mm visual analog scale), biceps brachii ECT thickness and ECT/muscle mobility during passive movement (both high-resolution ultrasound) were examined.

Results: Palpation pain, suggestive of DOMS, was greater after EE than CE, and maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque decreased greater after EE than CE (p < .05). Relative to CE, EE increased ECT thickness at 48 (+ 17%), 72 (+ 14%) and 96 (+ 15%) hours post-exercise (p < .05). At 96 h post-EE, the increase in ECT thickness correlated with palpation pain (r = .68; p < .05). ECT mobility was not different between conditions, but compared to CE, muscle displacement increased at 24 (+ 31%), 72 (+ 31%) and 96 (+ 41%) hours post-EE (p < .05).

Conclusion: Collectively, these results suggest an involvement of the ECT changes in delayed onset muscle soreness.
KW  - connective tissue
KW  - morphology
KW  - ultrasound
KW  - muscle damage
KW  - biceps brachii
KW  - muscle pain
KW  - Bindegewebe
KW  - Musculus biceps brachii
KW  - Ellbogengelenk
KW  - Übung
KW  - Schmerz
KW  - Myalgie
KW  - Muskelkater
KW  - Schädigung
KW  - Ultraschall
KW  - Dynamometer
Y1  - 2022
UR  - https://hst.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/264
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:tr5-2644
VL  - 8
SP  - 1
EP  - 12
PB  - Springer Nature
ER  -