Effect of different muscle contraction interventions using an isokinetic dynamometer on muscle recovery following muscle injury

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of differ-ent muscle contraction interventions using isokinetic dynamometers on the muscle recovery after muscle injury caused by eccentric exercise. A total of 28 healthy male adults participated in the present study and each subject was randomly assigned to eccentric muscle contraction (EC, n=7), concentric muscle contraction (CC, n=7), both eccentric and concentric muscle contraction (BEC, n=7), and control (CON, n=7) groups after performing eccentric exercise. In all groups, except the control group, a different type of muscle contraction intervention was applied repeatedly for 24-96 hr after eccentric exercise, and maximum strength, muscle soreness, and creatine kinase (CK) levels were mea-sured. The results showed a significant association between time and group, with respect to maximum strength (P < 0.05), muscle soreness (P < 0.001), and CK (P < 0.001) after eccentric exercise. Moreover, BEC group showed faster muscle recovery than other groups. In conclusion, implementing active strategies such as performing BEC using an isoki-netic dynamometer after eccentric exercise may be effective in facili-tating muscle recovery.