Neuromuscular Fatigue in Racquet Sports
Section snippets
Technical characteristics and physiologic demands of racquet sports
Badminton, squash, and table tennis are among the most popular racquet sports, even if tennis is probably the most widely practiced. Before discussing the potential mechanisms that limit performance, the technical characteristics of these sports and the physiologic strain imposed on the players have to be described. In racquet sports, the activity pattern is intermittent; that is, characterized by repetitions of fast starts and stops and alternating brief periods of exercise at maximal or near
Manifestation of fatigue
A close inspection of the literature reveals that the effects of fatigue on performance in squash, badminton, or table tennis players have received little documentation [2]. During the last decades, several studies have provided scientific evidence to support the observations made by coaches that fatigue impairs performance, as shown by mistimed shots (ie, power and precision) and altered on-court movements (ie, speed, positioning to the ball). In tennis, physiologic perturbations during
Defining and quantifying neuromuscular fatigue
Fatigue is a complex phenomenon and has been a major research topic for exercise scientists for the last half century. Neuromuscular fatigue refers to a transient reduction in the maximal force capacity of the muscle, and is measured objectively by an acute reduction of performance during exercise [12]. The inability to produce and maintain the required force can be attributed to several potential mechanisms occurring within cortical regions to muscular contractile elements, with each of these
Muscle activity
At the peripheral level, surface EMG recordings during evoked contractions have been used to indirectly explore neuromuscular fatigue [12]. In human experiments, the M-wave is commonly used as an index of neuromuscular transmission and action potential propagation in muscle fibers [23]. During intense short-term activities, reductions in ionic (Na+ and K+) trans-membrane gradients may occur, resulting in a decreased M-wave amplitude [24]. Briefly, the increased intracellular Na+ and reduced
Evidence of central activation failure
There is a growing body of literature to support a predominant association between fatigue in racquet sports and reduced neural drive to muscle [27], [30], [43]. The role of central fatigue in neuromuscular perturbations can be studied using the twitch interpolation technique, the ratio of the EMG signal during MVC normalized to the M-wave amplitude or the comparison of torques achieved with maximal voluntary and electrically-induced contractions [12], [26]. Using a combination of these
Summary
Fatigue impairs racquet sports performance, and can be manifested as mistimed shots, altered on-court movements, and incorrect cognitive (ie, tactical) choices. The etiology of muscle fatigue in racquet sports is a complex phenomenon that may involve impairment in both neural and contractile processes (see Fig. 1). Temporary fatigue observed after a series of consecutive intense rallies may be caused predominantly by a reduction in sarcolemmal excitability because of ionic disturbances and
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