Article

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of recovery time after
quadriceps muscle fatigue on gait in young adults. Forty young adults (20-40
years old) performed three 8-m gait trials at preferred velocity before and after
muscle fatigue, and after 5, 10 and 20min of passive rest. In addition, at each
time point, two maximal isometric voluntary contractions were preformed. Muscle
fatigue was induced by repeated sit-to-stand transfers until task failure.
Spatio-temporal, kinetic and muscle activity parameters, measured in the central
stride of each trial, were analyzed. Data were compared between before and after
the muscle fatigue protocol and after the recovery periods by one-way repeated
measures ANOVA. The voluntary force was decreased after the fatigue protocol
(p<0.001) and after 5, 10 and 20min of recovery compared to before the fatigue
protocol. Step width (p<0.001) and RMS of biceps femoris (p<0.05) were increased
immediately after the fatigue protocol and remained increased after the recovery
periods. In addition, stride duration was decreased immediately after the fatigue
protocol compared to before and to after 10 and 20min of rest (p<0.001). The
anterior-posterior propulsive impulse was also decreased after the fatigue
protocol (p<0.001) and remained low after 5, 10 and 20min of rest. We conclude
that 20min is not enough to see full recovery of gait after exhaustive quadriceps
muscle fatigue.
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Langue : ANGLAIS