TY - JOUR
T1 - Neuromuscular characteristics of front and back legs in junior fencers
AU - Watanabe, Kohei
AU - Yoshimura, Akane
AU - Holobar, Aleš
AU - Yamashita, Daichi
AU - Kunugi, Shun
AU - Hirono, Tetsuya
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Bilateral Program of JSPS (JPJSBP-82626) to KW and AH and by the Slovenian Research Agency (project J2-1731, L7-9421 and Program funding P2-0041) to AH.
Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge Mr. Hiroki Tomida of Aikodai Meiden Junior High School and High School, coach of the fencing team and TOKYO2020 Olympics Fencing Sports Information Service Team Supervisor, for giving us valuable and helpful suggestions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - In elite fencers, muscle strength and muscle mass of the front leg (FL) are greater than those of the back leg (BL) due to characteristic physiological and biomechanical demands placed on each leg during fencing. However, the development of laterality in their neural and muscular components is not well-understood. The present study investigated neuromuscular characteristics of FL and BL in junior fencers. Nineteen junior fencers performed neuromuscular performance tests for FL and BL, separately. There were no significant differences in the isometric knee extension strength (MVC), unilateral vertical jump (UVJ), vastus lateralis muscle thickness (MT), or motor unit firing rate of the vastus lateralis muscle (MUFR) between FL and BL (p > 0.05). In subgroup analyses, a significantly greater MUFR in FL than BL was noted only in fencers with > 3 years of fencing experience, and significantly greater UVJ in FL than BL was observed solely in fencers with < 3 years of fencing experience (p < 0.05). Strong positive correlations between FL and BL were identified in MVC, MT, and MUFR in fencers with > 3 years of fencing experience, but not in those with < 3 years of experience. These findings suggest that in junior fencers, laterality in neuromuscular performance has not manifested, whereas longer fencing experience induces fencing-dependent laterality in neural components, and laterality in dynamic muscle strength is decreased with fencing experience.
AB - In elite fencers, muscle strength and muscle mass of the front leg (FL) are greater than those of the back leg (BL) due to characteristic physiological and biomechanical demands placed on each leg during fencing. However, the development of laterality in their neural and muscular components is not well-understood. The present study investigated neuromuscular characteristics of FL and BL in junior fencers. Nineteen junior fencers performed neuromuscular performance tests for FL and BL, separately. There were no significant differences in the isometric knee extension strength (MVC), unilateral vertical jump (UVJ), vastus lateralis muscle thickness (MT), or motor unit firing rate of the vastus lateralis muscle (MUFR) between FL and BL (p > 0.05). In subgroup analyses, a significantly greater MUFR in FL than BL was noted only in fencers with > 3 years of fencing experience, and significantly greater UVJ in FL than BL was observed solely in fencers with < 3 years of fencing experience (p < 0.05). Strong positive correlations between FL and BL were identified in MVC, MT, and MUFR in fencers with > 3 years of fencing experience, but not in those with < 3 years of experience. These findings suggest that in junior fencers, laterality in neuromuscular performance has not manifested, whereas longer fencing experience induces fencing-dependent laterality in neural components, and laterality in dynamic muscle strength is decreased with fencing experience.
KW - High-density surface electromyography
KW - Motor unit
KW - Quadriceps
KW - Vertical jump
KW - Youth athletes
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U2 - 10.1007/s00221-022-06403-w
DO - 10.1007/s00221-022-06403-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 35771284
AN - SCOPUS:85133190608
SN - 0014-4819
VL - 240
SP - 2085
EP - 2096
JO - Experimental Brain Research
JF - Experimental Brain Research
IS - 7-8
ER -