Table Of ContentHuman muscle Fatigue
When human muscle fatigues, athletic performance becomes impaired. For those
individuals suffering muscle or metabolic diseases, the effects of muscle fatigue can
make everyday tasks difficult. Understanding the scientific processes responsible for
skeletal muscle fatigue is therefore central to the study of the physiology of sport,
exercise and disease.
Written by a team of leading international exercise scientists, this book explores
the mechanisms of muscle fatigue and presents a comprehensive survey of current
research on this important topic. Examining the wide variety of protocols, assess-
ment methods and exercise models used to study muscle fatigue, the book explores
the differential effects of fatigue as influenced by:
• age
• gender
• fitness and training
• the use of ergogenic aids
• medical conditions including neuromuscular diseases, muscular dystrophies
and myopathies.
Human Muscle Fatigue covers both clinical and applied approaches in sport and
exercise physiology and devotes an entire section to the conceptual framework
underpinning research in this area, helping readers from a wide range of back-
grounds to engage with the topic. Accessible and detailed, this book is a key text
for students and practitioners working in exercise and sports science, medicine,
physical therapy and health.
Craig A. Williams is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Children’s Health
and Exercise Research Centre, School of Sport and Health Sciences at the Univer-
sity of Exeter, UK. Craig’s research interests are within the area of children’s
fatigue and high-intensity exercise. Sébastien Ratel is Senior Lecturer and member
of the Laboratory of Exercise Biology at the Université Blaise Pascal, France. His
current research interests include the use of 31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy to
investigate the muscle metabolic responses of children during exercise, and muscle
fatigue and recovery from high-intensity exercise in children.
Human muscle Fatigue
Edited by Craig A. Williams and Sébastien Ratel
First published 2009
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2009 Selection and editorial matter, Craig A. Williams and Sébastien Ratel; individual
chapters, the contributors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Human muscle fatigue/edited by Craig A. Williams and Sébastien Ratel.
p. cm.
1. Muscles–Physiology. 2. Fatigue. 3. Sports–Physiological aspects. 4. Exercise–Physiological
aspects. I. Williams, Craig A., 1965– II. Ratel, Sébastien.
QP321.H856 2009
612.7'4–dc22 2008055417
ISBN 0-203-88548-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-415-45327-5 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-415-45328-3 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-88548-1 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-45327-1 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-45328-8 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-88548-2 (ebk)
This book is dedicated to the late memory of two extraordinary family
members. Firstly, my grandmother Chrissie Williams who taught me from
an early age the value of education and who was an exceptional teacher.
And secondly to my father-in-law Ted Wragg, an outstanding academic
and role model.
Craig A. Williams
To my wife, Anne, for all her love and support through the years. To my
wonderful daughter, Camille, the light of my life, you are the best – keep
smiling.
Sébastien Ratel
contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xiii
List of contributors xiv
Preface xvii
PART I
The conceptual framework of muscle fatigue 1
1 Definitions of muscle fatigue 3
CRAIG A. WILLIAMS AND SéBASTIEN RATEL
2 Measurement methods of muscle fatigue 17
NICOLA A. MAFFIULETTI AND DAvID BENDAHAN
3 Cellular mechanisms of skeletal muscle fatigue 48
HåkAN WESTERBLAD AND DAvID G. ALLEN
PART II
Fatigue and extraneous factors 77
4 Muscle fatigue in children 79
SéBASTIEN RATEL, PASCALE DUCHé AND
CRAIG A. WILLIAMS
viii ContEntS
5 Muscle fatigue in elderly people 103
JANE A. kENT-BRAUN, DAMIEN M. CALLAHAN,
STEPHEN A. FOULIS AND LINDA H. CHUNG
6 Sex differences in muscle fatigue 135
DAvID W. RUSS
7 Fatigue and training status 164
GREGORY C. BOGDANIS
8 Ergogenic aids and fatigue during multiple-sprint
exercise 205
DAvID BISHOP
PART III
Fatigue and pathophysiology 243
9 Fatigue and neuromuscular diseases 245
CHRISTINE k. THOMAS, MARINE DIDIDzE AND
INGE zIJDEWIND
10 Muscle fatigue in muscular dystrophies 285
N.B.M. vOET, A.C.H. GEURTS, G. BLEIJENBERG,
M.J. zWARTS, G.W. PADBERG AND B.G.M. vAN ENGELEN
11 Fatigue and weakness in patients with inflammatory
myopathies: dermatomyositis, polymyositis and inclusion
body myositis 313
JANE H. PARk, BRITTANY C. LEE AND NANCY J. OLSEN
12 Muscle fatigue in metabolic myopathies 338
RONALD G. HALLER AND JOHN vISSING
Index 360
Figures
1.1 Chain of command mechanism of fatigue 10
1.2 A multi-factorial perspective of fatigue 11
2.1 Typical series of 31P MRS recorded in human forearm
flexor muscles 30
2.2 Typical PCr and pH time-dependent changes recorded
throughout a standardised rest–exercise–recovery
protocol in a group of 18 subjects 31
2.3 Schematic representation of the non-invasive setup
allowing in vivo MR investigation of skeletal muscle
function in rat gastrocnemius muscle 34
2.4 Linear relationship between PCr and pH values scaled to
power output (P) and recorded in a group of subjects for
different exercise intensities 36
3.1 Schematic of structures involved in activation of muscle
contraction 49
3.2 Tetanic force records obtained during fatiguing
stimulation of a fast-twitch and a slow-twitch mouse
muscle fibre 54
3.3 [Ca2+] transients at various stages of fatigue 55
i
3.4 Schematic force–[Ca2+] relationships illustrating changes
i
in myofibrillar function in fatigue 61
3.5 Schematic force–velocity and force–power curves under
control conditions and in fatigue 65
3.6 Schematic to illustrate various patterns of muscle fatigue 68
4.1 Endurance time expressed in percentage of maximal
aerobic speed for running in children and adults 81
4.2 World-best performances in marathon with increasing age 81
4.3 Metabolic reserve as a function of age 82
