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Eccentric exercise inhibits the H reflex in the middle part of the trapezius muscle

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the modulation of the H reflex immediately after and 24 h after eccentric exercise in the presence of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and (2) test the reproducibility of the H reflex in trapezius across days. H reflexes were recorded from the dominant middle trapezius muscle by electrical stimulation of the C3/4 cervical nerve in ten healthy subjects. DOMS was induced by eccentric exercise of the dominant shoulder. H reflexes were obtained in four sessions: “24 h before”, “Pre”, “Post”, and “24 h after” eccentric exercise. Ratios of maximal H reflex and M wave responses (H max/M max) were compared between sessions. In addition, a between session comparison was done for the ratios of H reflex amplitudes (H i_75/M max, and H i_50/M max) obtained from the stimulus intensity needed to obtain 75 and 50 % of H max at “24 h before”. No ratio changes were found when comparing “24 h before” and “Pre” recordings. A decrease in H i_50/M max was found at “Post” (P < 0.05) and decreases in both H i_75/M max and H i_50/M max were observed at “24 h after” (P < 0.05). This study presented evidence that an acceptable day-to-day reproducibility of the H reflex could be obtained with the applied experimental setup. Furthermore, immediately after and 24 h after exercise a stronger stimulus intensity was needed to reach the same magnitude of the H reflex reflecting that the recruitment curve was shifted to the right. This modulation of the stimulus–response relationship could be caused by presynaptic inhibition of Ia afferent fibres’ input to the motoneuron by group III and IV afferents.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. A Samani (Aalborg University) for providing a visual feedback interface. The present work was partly supported by a grant from Gigtforeningen and is a part of the “Bionex—The Danish Neck–shoulder” project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Science and Technology, Laboratory for Ergonomics and Work-related Disorders, Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction (SMI), Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7, Bldg. D-3, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark

    Steffen Vangsgaard, Lars T. Nørgaard, Brian K. Flaskager & Pascal Madeleine

  2. Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Karen Søgaard

  3. Neuroscience Research Australia, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Janet L. Taylor

Authors
  1. Steffen Vangsgaard
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  2. Lars T. Nørgaard
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  3. Brian K. Flaskager
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  4. Karen Søgaard
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  5. Janet L. Taylor
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  6. Pascal Madeleine
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pascal Madeleine.

Additional information

Communicated by Dick F. Stegeman.

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Vangsgaard, S., Nørgaard, L.T., Flaskager, B.K. et al. Eccentric exercise inhibits the H reflex in the middle part of the trapezius muscle. Eur J Appl Physiol 113, 77–87 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2412-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2412-y

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