Abstract
Background: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters correlate with muscle fiber composition, but it is unclear how these relate to in vivo contractile function. Purpose: To determine the relationship between DTI parameters of the vastus lateralis (VL) and in vivo knee extensor contractile. Methods: Thirteen healthy, premenopausal women underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the mid-thigh to determine patellar tendon moment arm length and quadriceps cross-sectional area. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) of the VL were determined using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Participants underwent an interpolated twitch (ITT) experiment before and after a fatiguing concentric-eccentric isokinetic knee extension (60°·s−1). During the ITT, supramaximal electrical stimuli were delivered to elicit twitch responses from the knee extensors before, during, and after a maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Knee extensor-specific tension during twitch and MVIC were calculated from isometric torque data. Pearson's correlations were used to determine the relationship between muscle contractile properties and DTI parameters. Results: MD and RD were moderately correlated with peak twitch force and rate of force development. FA and AD were moderately inversely related to percent change in MVIC following exercise. Conclusion: MD and RD are associated with in vivo quadriceps twitch properties but not voluntary strength, which may reflect the mechanical properties of constituent fiber types. FA and AD appear to relate to MVIC strength following fatiguing exercise.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 213-223 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Funding
This work was supported by a Creative Activities Award from the College of Education (LMB) as well as NIH/NCATS KL2TR001996 (MAS). Additionally, resources from the University of Kentucky Pediatric Exercise Physiology Endowment were used in this study. MR images were obtained on an instrument purchased using support from the NIH through grant 1S10OD023573. The current affiliation for RSC is Department of Physical Therapy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. The authors thank Scott Sigrist and Alex Gililland for their efforts in processing DTI data. This work was supported by a Creative Activities Award from the College of Education (LMB) as well as NIH/NCATS KL2TR001996 (MAS). Additionally, resources from the University of Kentucky Pediatric Exercise Physiology Endowment were used in this study. MR images were obtained on an instrument purchased using support from the NIH through grant 1S10OD023573. The current affiliation for RSC is Department of Physical Therapy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. The authors thank Scott Sigrist and Alex Gililland for their efforts in processing DTI data.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Scott Sigrist and Alex Gililland | |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) | KL2TR001996, 1S10OD023573 |
| University of Missouri – St. Louis | |
| University of Kentucky | |
| Department of Physical Therapy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas | |
| College of Education, Michigan State University | |
| State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology |
Keywords
- Contractile Function
- Interpolated Twitch
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Muscle Quality
- Twitch Voluntary Activation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation