Abstract
Hamstring muscle injury is highly prevalent in sports involving repeated maximal sprinting. Although neuromuscular fatigue is thought to be a risk factor, the mechanisms underlying the fatigue response to repeated maximal sprints are unclear. Here, we show that repeated maximal sprints induce neuromuscular fatigue accompanied with a prolonged strength loss in hamstring muscles. The immediate hamstring strength loss was linked to both central and peripheral fatigue, while prolonged strength loss was associated with indicators of muscle damage. The kinematic changes immediately after sprinting likely protected fatigued hamstrings from excess elongation stress, while larger hamstring muscle physiological cross-sectional area and lower myoblast:fibroblast ratio appeared to protect against fatigue/damage and improve muscle recovery within the first 48 h after sprinting. We have therefore identified novel mechanisms that likely regulate the fatigue/damage response and initial recovery following repeated maximal sprinting in humans.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 7733 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Scientific Reports |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 8 Apr 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This study was supported by a Liverpool John Moores University PhD studentship (P.B.), and the Wellcome Trust Biomedical Vacation Scholarships (R.M.E., M.S.) (207194/Z/17/Z). P.B, as part of the EuroTech Postdoc Programme, is co-funded by the European Commission under its framework programme Horizon 2020. Grant Agreement number 754462.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General