Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of eccentric training with different training frequencies on the blood circulation, collagen orientation, and mechanical properties of the human Achilles tendon in vivo.
Methods
Ten healthy males completed 12 weeks of a unilateral eccentric training program {(15 repetitions with knee straight and 15 repetitions with knee slightly bent) × 6 sets in a single session} for the plantar flexor muscles. They performed training three times per week on one side (3TW) and six times per week on the other side (6TW). Before and after training, changes in blood volume, coefficient of variation (CV) of echogenicity (reflects collagen fiber orientation), and stiffness of the Achilles tendon were compared by two-way analysis of variance.
Results
The tendon blood volume tended to increase after 3TW and 6TW (p = 0.064). Tendon stiffness did not change after 3TW and 6TW, whereas the elongation of tendon structures at three force levels (50, 100, and 150 N) significantly decreased with 3TW, but not 6TW. The CV of echogenicity significantly decreased after 3TW and 6TW. However, no significant differences were observed in the relative changes in these measured variables between 3TW and 6TW.
Conclusion
The present results demonstrated an increase in blood volume, the alignment of collagen fibers, and unchanged stiffness of the Achilles tendon after 12 weeks of eccentric training. Furthermore, the training frequency did not influence these training-induced changes in the tendon properties.
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Abbreviations
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- CSA:
-
Cross-sectional area
- CV:
-
Coefficient of variation
- ICC:
-
Interclass correlation coefficient
- LG:
-
Lateral gastrocnemius muscle
- MA:
-
Moment arm length
- MG:
-
Medial gastrocnemius muscle
- MVC:
-
Maximal voluntary contraction
- 1RM:
-
One repetition maximum
- Oxy:
-
Oxyhemoglobin
- pη 2 :
-
Partial eta-squared
- ROI:
-
Region of interest
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
- 6TW:
-
Six times per week
- SOL:
-
Soleus muscle
- StO2 :
-
Oxygen saturation
- 3TW:
-
Three times per week
- TQ:
-
Torque values
- THb:
-
Total hemoglobin
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellow (16J07375 to T. Ishigaki) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (17H02149 to K. Kubo) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
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All authors approved to submit this manuscript. The contributions of all authors were as follows: Keitaro Kubo: conception of this study, acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript. Tomonobu Ishigaki: acquisition of data, analysis data, drafting figures and tables.
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Communicated by Toshio Moritani.
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Ishigaki, T., Kubo, K. Effects of eccentric training with different training frequencies on blood circulation, collagen fiber orientation, and mechanical properties of human Achilles tendons in vivo. Eur J Appl Physiol 118, 2617–2626 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3985-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3985-x