Sleep to consolidate a new motor pattern

I am in the middle of pulling a bunch of data for a study that is due ASAP, so this one today will be short but it is a really cool study.

There are more data now showing that sleep is critical for the motor learning process. So if you want to learn a new task, skill or even a new lift in the gym; getting a nap or sleep should help "burn in" (consolidate) that new pattern!

This study discusses that the type of task and when you sleep may also be important for greater performance!

Contribution of night and day sleep vs. simple passage of time to the consolidation of motor sequence and visuomotor adaptation learning.

Doyon J, Korman M, Morin A, Dostie V, Hadj Tahar A, Benali H, Karni A, Ungerleider LG, Carrier J. Functional Neuroimaging Unit, University of Montreal Geriatric Institute, 4565 Queen-Mary, Montreal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada. julien.doyon@umontreal.ca


There is increasing evidence supporting the notion that the contribution of sleep to consolidation of motor skills depends on the nature of the task used in practice. We compared the role of three post-training conditions in the expression of delayed gains on two different motor skill learning tasks: finger tapping sequence learning (FTSL) and visuomotor adaptation (VMA). Subjects in the DaySleep and ImmDaySleep conditions were trained in the morning and at noon, respectively, afforded a 90-min nap early in the afternoon and were re-tested 12 h post-training. In the NightSleep condition, subjects were trained in the evening on either of the two learning paradigms and re-tested 12 h later following sleep, while subjects in the NoSleep condition underwent their training session in the morning and were re-tested 12 h later without any intervening sleep.


The results of the FTSL task revealed that post-training sleep (day-time nap or night-time sleep) significantly promoted the expression of delayed gains at 12 h post-training, especially if sleep was afforded immediately after training. In the VMA task, however, there were no significant differences in the gains expressed at 12 h post-training in the three conditions.


CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that "off-line" performance gains reflecting consolidation processes in the FTSL task benefit from sleep, even a short nap, while the simple passage of time is as effective as time in sleep for consolidation of VMA to occur. They also imply that procedural memory consolidation processes differ depending on the nature of task demands.

TED Talks Michael Merzenich: Exploring the re-wiring of the brain

Wanted to send a huge thanks to everyone at the NSCA Spring Conference here in MN this past weekend. Thanks again to all that I met there, both new and old friends. I will have more in the next day or so.

Very cool Ted Talk on the neuroplastiticy of the brain and its ability to change!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

TED Talks Michael Merzenich: Exploring the re-wiring of the brain

Mike T Nelson on Super Human Radio: Visual Aspect of Performance

Just a heads up that I was recently on Super Human Radio again discussing how your vision affects your performance

Learn some simple exercises to improve your athletic performance on the field and in the gym

• Should you look in the mirror in the gym?
• Neurologic reflexes to maximize strength
• Should you lift without your glasses?
• Can you really "see" results from all this stuff?
  

Vision is MUCH more than just the ability to see clearly! Learn more below

Super Human Radio Show - # 295 - The Visual Aspect Of Performance

Special thanks to Carl as he does a great show and makes doing an interview a fun experience.

Be sure to check the Super Human Radio home page

If you missed the first episode I did on proprioception "2 way muscle talk" check it out below.

Z Health, Proprioception, Neuroplasticity all on Super Human Radio

Any comments, let me know!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Mobility vs Stability, Primitive Patterns, Z Health and More!

Question on Mobility, Stability, Primitive Patterns, Z Health and more!

Came across your blog and found it interesting as I have also taken some Z courses. I love it, but think that there doesn't have to be a distinction between the nervous system and biomechanical approaches.

I think both are necessary and we all need a balance between mobility and stability. Not sure if you're familiar with Gray Cook, but he wrote an interesting article on this topic a while back on T-nation.

I recently purchased his Primitive Movements DVD and he discusses movement patterns along with some stability work, including some Power Plate exercises. In one of his newsletters, Eric (Dr. Cobb of Z Health) stated his doubt about the use of anything electric, but I think he is wrong on this one.

I've been doing Z Health since 2003 and seen great results with it. At the same time, it hasn't restored proper function by itself and I believe most people will need some form of manual therapy and stability work for optimal results.

Vibration platforms are a great tool for addressing reflex stabilization. Just a tool, but effective none the less.

Look forward to reading your articles. Always looking to learn from someone new.

Thanks
Brian Morgan

Answer
Thanks for the note Brian! One of the things I love about this blog is the ability to interact with some really smart people.

I don't really like the term "stability" I think a better term is "coordination" (stole that from Frankie Faires). Much of this I covered in this past post

Jammed Joints and Muscular Weakness--Stability and Mobility

Also see Aaron's Blog post here

Not a Stability Issue

I do believe you need mobility before stability, as I stated in my lumbar mobility post quite some time ago (I am sure I am not the first to say that). Kids has tons of mobility and then learn coordination (stability).

Lumbar Mobility in Italy

Lumbar movement and Z Health comment

Cool that you have been doing Z-Health for a long time. Have you worked with a Z Health trainer? If so, what level? Many times after a period of time, you will need your eyes/vestibular systems checked as they can be impeding any progress. Don't just take my word for it, see this comment from Dr. Jim below

Testimonial for Z Health and New Dragon Door Workshop: Z-Health

I am actually totally for hands on work, as long as it is NOT painful---see my ART / Z Health post below (I think I am going for a record number of links in a post)

Active Release Technique (ART), Z Health, Hands on Work (Massage, Guided Exercise)

For research, I think vibe platforms are cool (although they feel really weird), but if I was going to build a gym from scratch, at 10K a piece I would put them on the bottom of the list. I do think they can get lots of mechanoreceptor stim going and many times that will even get people out of pain.

I spent about an hour talking to the nice people at the power plate stand at ACSM last year. Very cool people and I expect to see more use of them for pain reduction coming soon. How long that effect will hold once you step off is debatable. I think some cool mobility work (when done with precision) can get you a similar effect and will last (hold) longer due to the enhanced motor learning--you are ACTIVELY moving your limbs so that brain on top of your head has to work harder than if you just lay their like a dead fish while someone pokes/prods at ya.

Thoughts/ comments from others? Post them in the comments!

Rock on and special thanks to Brian for letting me post this here
Mike T Nelson

Movement and Brain Health: Running exercise-induced up-regulation of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Running exercise-induced up-regulation of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor is CREB-dependent.

Chen MJ, Russo-Neustadt AA. Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, 5151 State University Dr., Los Angeles, California.

The past decade has witnessed burgeoning evidence that antidepressant medications and physical exercise increase the expression of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This phenomenon has gained widespread appeal, because BDNF is one of the first macromolecules observed to play a central role not only in the treatment of mood disorders, but also in neuronal survival-, growth-, and plasticity-related signaling cascades. Thus, it has become critical to understand how BDNF synthesis is regulated. Much evidence exists that changes in BDNF expression result from the activation/phosphorylation of the transcription factor, cAMP-response-element binding protein (CREB) following the administration of antidepressant medications. Utilizing a mouse model genetically engineered with an inducible CREB repressor, our current study provides evidence that increases in BDNF expression and cellular survival signaling resulting from physical exercise are also dependent upon activation of this central transcription factor.


The transcription and expression of hippocampal BDNF, as well as the activation of Akt, a key survival signaling molecule, were measured following acute exercise, and also following short-term treatment with the norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, reboxetine. We found that both interventions led to a marked increase in hippocampal BDNF mRNA, BDNF protein, and Akt phosphorylation (as well as CREB phosphorylation) in wild-type mice. As expected, activation of the CREB repressor in mutant mice sharply decreased CREB phosphorylation. In addition, all measures noted above remained at baseline levels when mutant mice exercised or received reboxetine. Increases in BDNF and phospho-Akt were also prevented when mutant mice received a combination of exercise and antidepressant treatment.


CONCLUSION: The results are discussed in the context of what is currently known about brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling.

My Notes: While this is a mechanistic study, once again science is starting to unwind the mysteries of brain function and movement. It is pretty clear that movement (running in this case, but exercise in general) affects brain function too! Another positive for mobility work and exercise in general.

Related posts

Movement and Brain Deterioration? New Study

More Brain Science and BAHG

Stroke of Insight

Neuroscience Research Updates for October

Neuroplasticity and Human Athletic Performance

Rock on!
Mike T Nelson

Active Release Technique (ART), Z Health, Hands on Work (Massage, Guided Exericse)

What are your thoughts about ART?

This was a good question that I received about 3 times in the past week, so I thought I would address it here.

It is a general question, so I will answer it in relation to general prinicples. Again, everything needs to be custom to the athletes that you work with of course.

For more info, click the links below

Get Off the Foam Roller

Myth Busters-Painful Soft Tissue Work

Some have believed based on my posts above that I am against soft tissue/hands on work; and that is not true at all. I am against PAINFUL soft tissue work!

All of the ART therapists that I have met so far have been great and extremely knowledgeable. Some do painful soft tissue work and others do not (although they are much less common). I don't believe pain is needed to get a result and will actually diminish your results. You are normally seeing an ART person to get out of pain or change a motor pattern/pain.

Don't try to blow up the safe when you just need the correct combination to open the door.

Here is another great post by Carl Valle at Elite Track and my response to it.

Soft Tissue Therapy by Carl Valle (click the title to open it)


My response to Carl.

Hi there Carl! Thanks for the kinds words as it means a lot coming from someone such as yourself.

In relation to experience with athletes that is an excellent point. To date, I have done a fair amount of Z Health sessions (I do have the exact number documented and not pulled out of thin air if you need further info).

Note that when I say Z Health this may apply to dynamic joint mobility work, visual testing/movements, vestibular work or even hands on work (which means that I am holding
tissue/joint/muscle in a specific orientation while they perform an exercise).

I agree that most of these are not what would be considered high level athletes and more weekend warriors types. I was able do a session with a recent Olympic competitor and was able to get her out of pain for the first time in years (see link below)

Z Health and Marathon Running

The same principles would apply to high level athletes.

I agree 100% that soft tissue work done correctly can have HUGE changes for people. No question about that!

You point about most businesses is a good one. I do run a business in the private sector.

Clients/athletes come to a professional in the field for results. My guarantee is that if I can’t get your pain to less than a 2 on a 1-10 scale in ONE session, it is FREE. No results=no money for me=out of business.

Down with foam rollers! Preach on.

Yes, there is research on eccentric stimuli to help encourage remodeling, esp in the case of
tendonOSIS as you know. I like to think upstream—-what causes tension on the muscles/tendons?

Control from the nervous system, so if we can alter that signal, over time the structures will adapt.

Carl said “..but the direct approach WITH motor changes and other elements is a full approach.”

Yes! I have had cases where I’ve needed to do hands on (touch an athlete just as you would touch them to guide them during an exericse) to get a result. In one specific case I held the hamstrings in a specific orientation with the athlete doing an opposite elbow circle (joint mobility), with her head turned to the right and eyes in the up position.

Her hamstrings worked much better afterward and total time of the drill was about 1 minute (getting to that point was about 40 minutes in that case though). She had to follow up and do a similar drill (without hands on work) 3xs a day for about 3-4 weeks for it to “stick”—there is never a free lunch

In general, I do the minimal approach to get the maximal results. Precise joint mobility work seems to get me there about 70% of the time ( I mean 72.8958859% of the time, hehee). The more times I work with athletes and as their movement progresses, the more other work they will need—hands on (guided exercises), visual (eyes held in a specific position), and vestibular (head motions) ; but with all things “it depends” as I may skip around depending on the client. I like to start simple and then only add complexity when the simple looking things do not work.


I hope that answers the ART question!

Any follow up points, thoughts, clarifications, please post them in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mike T Nelson

Get Off the Treadmill!

The "Get Off" series continues (add your own bad joke here_____)

Seems like the past one about foam rollers was like poking a hornet's nest with a big stick; so it should be interesting to see what happens here.

In case you missed the first installment, see the post below

Get Off the Foam Roller

Stay the heck off the darn treadmill!

I find it incredibly odd that when I used to lift at a commercial gym that people would circle the parking lot for several minutes to find a close parking spot only to go in and get on a treadmill. What? Why don't you just leave your car at home and walk to the gym? Yeah I know there are tons of reasons why this may not be practical, but buy a kettlebell (see the dragon link on the upper right hand side) and get some expert instruction from a local RKC and you are on your way. Yes, you can train your CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness aka "cardio") by using a KB.

If you want more details, see the post below where I challenged Carl Lanore at Super Human Radio about his treadmill usage.

Z Health, Proprioception, Neuroplasticity all on Super Human Radio

Why are treadmills bad news bears?
In short, when you are on a treadmill, your joints are telling your brain you are moving; but the eyes tell your brain--no you are not moving you idiot because you are in the same darn place that you were 20 minutes ago! I think this causes some massive confusion with your nervous system and a decrease in performance.

Just watching people walk off a treadmill in any gym---they look like Ted Kennedy after a late night bender.

If people want more treadmill information, this is one of the many topics covered in the Z Health R Phase Certification; so drop me a line for information.

Editor's Note: (I add the following portion in an attempt to better explain myself. I appreciate the comments!).

I am not against exercise at all. I've spend the better part of the past 17 years (yikes, I can't believe I started college in 1992, ugh) studying physiology/engineering in some form. If someone could put the benefits of exercise in a pill, it would be the best selling drug in history almost over night.

Like all things, I believe there is a correct way and a wrong way to do things. Keep in mind that all forms of exercise have a COST. No free lunch. The cost of doing treadmill work I believe is making your muscles weaker (I will be working on a video to demo this in the next few weeks). The cost of attempting a very heavy deadlift with piss poor form may be a back issue. The correct exercise for your body, done correctly will still cost you fuel (think food) to perform it. You get the idea.

The gait (walking/running pattern) on a treadmill is very close to what we would normally do on flat, non moving ground and this compounds the issue. From many studies, we know that if a major league baseball pitcher decided to throw a baseball that is even just a little bit heavier for his training, it would completely screw up his pitching. Some coaches have completely ruined athlete's careers by doing this! The motor learning process is very precise and using a heavier ball for pitching has a negative transfer to his pitching with a regulation ball.

I think the treadmill is too close to our normal gait and seems to have a negative transfer. Other modes of cardio don't seem to do this probably because they are different enough; so bikes (even stationary ones) don't seem to be an issue and most weight lifting is fine also.

It is a free country and nobody any time soon is going to take your treadmill away from you. You are free to use it, I just ask that people keep careful records to make sure it does not have any negative transfer to them (decrease in performance).

Chasing someone around with a metabolic cart to complete a study would be a total pain in the butt, I agree completely. So far to date I've done over 150 exercise tests and I am glad I don't have to chase anyone around (although there are systems to do that). The cardiorespiratory response appears to be fine as anything that uses lots of muscles in a rhythmic fashion will work.

We know so much about CRF since it is much easier to study then strength and even athletic performance in the lab.

Back to the blog again. If people are interested, I am working on a longer version of this based off the many research studies that I pulled. Not sure when it will be done though.

Below are some great treadmill videos for your viewing pleasure that I stole off of Eric Cressey's blog.



I had this one in a presentation years ago---one of my favs!



The rise of "functional treadmill training" Challenge your balance!



Comments? Let me know and post them below.
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans

FLzine
I just finished an interview with the fine folks at FLzine.com. I will give you all a heads up once the interview is posted. In it I discuss more mobility fun, why static stretching sucks, and much more.

Mental Fatigue Impairs Performance
Here is something that I have wondered about for years, but until recently never found any data.

When I started working in Technical Services for a major medical device company after my first 7.5 years in college many years ago in a galaxy far far away, I would get grilled all day answering calls from patients, reps, nurse and doctors. They ranged from Ethel that was too close to her microwave and she was trying to hide around the corner closing the door with a broomstick (microwaves and pacemakers are not an issue) to a physician at a device implant who is calling about a certain feature and you can hear the monitors in the background beeping.

I could not understand why I was so tired once I got home even though I sat no my butt all day! Part of this was from just not moving around much at all, but perhaps part of it was "mental fatigue"?

On to the Study
The nice part was the study below was a crossover design, so each subject acted as their own control. This allows you to use less subjects overall as you are only comparing 2 different conditions changes; so one with mental fatigue and the other without.

While it has been argued that a bike to exhaustion is not similar to a time trial format, the vast majority of evidence has been collected using that format. Time trials can be altered too by the subjects (esp. non competitive athletes) learning to pace themselves better.

The performance decrease did not appear to be from the heart/lungs (cardiorespiratory) or muscles! It appears to be all in your head indeed!

If anyone has watched lots of exercise tests to exhaustion will tell you, you need to be very careful what you say to them during a test. I always make it a point to explain everything up front and remind them that it is a max test. Once the test is over half way, I only use encouragement and do not give one group an "option" to quit. My guess is that if someone is working very hard (RPE of a 9 out of 10) and you reminded them that they can stop at any point now because the test is on a volunteer basis, many would just stop even though physically their numbers may be the same!

Other trials have attempted to get around this by giving money for the top performance to make it more competitive.

No mater how you cut it, endurance events at a high level are much about pain management.

Thoughts on the study? Let me know by posting a comment
Rock on
Mike T Nelson


Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans

Samuele M. Marcora, Walter Staiano, and Victoria Manning School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom Submitted 4 October 2008 ; accepted in final form 5 January 2009


Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. Although the impact of mental fatigue on cognitive and skilled performance is well known, its effect on physical performance has not been thoroughly investigated. In this randomized crossover study, 16 subjects cycled to exhaustion at 80% of their peak power output after 90 min of a demanding cognitive task (mental fatigue) or 90 min of watching emotionally neutral documentaries (control). After experimental treatment, a mood questionnaire revealed a state of mental fatigue (P = 0.005) that significantly reduced time to exhaustion (640 ± 316 s) compared with the control condition (754 ± 339 s) (P = 0.003).


This negative effect was not mediated by cardiorespiratory and musculoenergetic factors as physiological responses to intense exercise remained largely unaffected. Self-reported success and intrinsic motivation related to the physical task were also unaffected by prior cognitive activity. However, mentally fatigued subjects rated perception of effort during exercise to be significantly higher compared with the control condition (P = 0.007). As ratings of perceived exertion increased similarly over time in both conditions (P < style="font-weight: bold;">

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our study provides experimental evidence that mental fatigue limits exercise tolerance in humans through higher perception of effort rather than cardiorespiratory and musculoenergetic mechanisms. Future research in this area should investigate the common neurocognitive resources shared by physical and mental activity.

Pain is Bad for Performance: New Study on Shoulder Pain

I am sure everyone is tired of hearing me yack about how bad pain is for performance and proper muscle coordination. If you have missed my tyrants in the past, see the following by clicking on them

Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Pain and A Shot to the Nuts

Pain and Performance

In this study, they created pain in healthy people and then saw that it decreased shoulder muscle activity. The researchers stated,

"During abduction, experimentally induced pain in the supraspinatus muscle caused a significant decrease in activity of the anterior deltoid, upper trapezius and the infraspinatus and an increase in activity of lower trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscles."

The body is showing an arthrokinetic reflex where it is working to protect the joint by starting to shut down the muscles around it. Makes sense since your body is survival based, not performance based. You can get an increase in performance by increasing the ability of it to survive. This is a basic concept taught in Z Health R Phase.

Mobility drills (like Z Health) can be used to correct the joints and thus muscular function.

For maximal performance, get out of pain. A vast majority of the time, better movement = less pain.

Below is the full study

The influence of experimentally induced pain on shoulder muscle activity

Louise Pyndt Diederichsen1, 4, 5 Contact Information, Annika Winther1, Poul Dyhre-Poulsen2, Michael R. Krogsgaard3 and Jesper Nørregaard1
(1) Institute of Sports Medicine-Copenhagen, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
(2) Department for Medical Physiology, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
(3) Department of Orthopaedic Surgery M, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
(4) Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Odense Universitetshospital, Sdr. Boulevard 29, 5000 Odense C, Denmark
(5) Lodsvej 25A, 5270 Odense N, Denmark

Abstract
Muscle function is altered in painful shoulder conditions. However, the influence of shoulder pain on muscle coordination of the shoulder has not been fully clarified. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of experimentally induced shoulder pain on shoulder muscle function.

Eleven healthy men (range 22–27 years), with no history of shoulder or cervical problems, were included in the study. Pain was induced by 5% hypertonic saline injections into the supraspinatus muscle or subacromially. Seated in a shoulder machine, subjects performed standardized concentric abduction (0°–105°) at a speed of approximately 120°/s, controlled by a metronome.

During abduction, electromyographic (EMG) activity was recorded by intramuscular wire electrodes inserted in two deeply located shoulder muscles and by surface-electrodes over six superficially located shoulder muscles.

EMG was recorded before pain, during pain and after pain had subsided and pain intensity was continuously scored on a visual analog scale (VAS). During abduction, experimentally induced pain in the supraspinatus muscle caused a significant decrease in activity of the anterior deltoid, upper trapezius and the infraspinatus and an increase in activity of lower trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscles. Following subacromial injection a significantly increased muscle activity was seen in the lower trapezius, the serratus anterior and the latissimus dorsi muscles.

In conclusion, this study shows that acute pain both subacromially and in the supraspinatus muscle modulates coordination of the shoulder muscles during voluntary movements. During painful conditions, an increased activity was detected in the antagonist (latissimus), which support the idea that localized pain affects muscle activation in a way that protects the painful structure.

Further, the changes in muscle activity following subacromial pain induction tend to expand the subacromial space and thereby decrease the load on the painful structures.

Random Thoughts Friday: Shoes, Mobility, and ACSM

I was up at the butt crack of dawn again (5:15AM) to run to the lab for some more testing on the effects of Energy Drinks, but I am over the halfway point--yeah!!!

Iron Radio TODAY!
Periodizing Training & Nutrition

EVENT: Iron Radio With Mike T Nelson
DATE & TIME: Friday, April 3rd at 2:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)
Topic: "Periodizing Training & Nutrition"
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/...eventid=6770136

Random Thoughts
So all the cool kids are doing random thoughts, so I thought I would hop on the bandwagon. It will be a good way to get out some stuff in my blogger file that is probably not quite big enough for an article and if I get lots of questions of something I can then turn it into an article. Last time I checked I have >200 random things in there. Yikes.

1) My favorites shoes for training "The smarter the shoe, the dumber the foot" --Eric Cressey? Dr Cobb?

Not sure who I heard that one from first, but I totally agree. The short version is this

Train your feet for mobility first, then strength

Find a shoe that is as minimal as possible to prevent it from adapting the wrong direction.

Stiff shoes= stiff feet = messed up movement

Don't even get me started on high heals--horrible (any female readers I had just left. Drat)

My favorite shoes are shown below, the Tai-Chi Onistuka Tigers as worn in Kill Bill.

They are completely flat on the bottom, minimal support, although good lateral support for speed work and great grippy sole. I love them. My gait normally tests great in them too.

CSS is one of the only places you can find them and they are currently out of the yellow and black, but they are having a vote on the next style they are going to run, so vote HERE Do me a favor and vote for the black/whites ones as the other ones are U.G.L.Y

2) The last album from Scar Symmetry is amazing!
I am still listening to this CD almost daily after having it for over 5 months now. Amazing metal release and my fav of all last year. Check out the video below (note, a few seconds of possibly borderline non work friendly shots at times as a heads up)

Who says metal is not intelligent? Lyrics below for ya too




Lyrics | Scar Symmetry Lyrics | Morphogenesis Lyrics




3) The ACSM Annual Meeting Advance Program Available

Yes, I am a huge geek and have a whole vacation planned around the ACSM Conference coming up in late May. I presented a poster there last year and it was actually very good and much better than I expected (I thought it was going to be all cardio bunnies yacking about how running and aerobic training are the greatest thing ever; but it was not at all).

See below for notes from last year

ACSM Random Updates

If anyone is interested in an ebook about the latest in performance enhancement from the conference, drop me an email or place a comment below.
Email me by clicking here

Here is what they are saying about the meeting this year.

With a record-number of abstracts and more than 200 sessions, ACSM's 56th Annual Meeting promises to provide an exceptional array of cutting-edge science and clinical sessions. Check out the blend of expert speakers from around the globe, symposia and exhibits in the Advance Program by clicking HERE

If you are going to be at ACSM, let me know!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Stop Static Stretching: New Research

Up On The Soapbox Again
The loyal readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of static stretching. I can't understand why you would put a muscle (and joints) at an extreme range of motion (ROM) and wait there for the muscles to get WEAKER. I don't want to teach my body that!

I want to have STRENGTH at an END range of motion.

Remember, your body is uber smart and is CONSTANTLY adapting, so what do you want it to adapt to? This goes for you desk jockeys too cranking your necks to read this screen, so sit up straight (yes Mom), but please do keep reading.

Why Do People Static Stretch?
I think people still do static stretching to some degree because they have nothing else to replace it with.

Here is the big revelation
You can replace all static stretching with precise joint mobility work (insert Z Health plug here).

Even dynamic mobility drills are much better than static stretching.

On a personal note, I have not done any static stretching for almost 2 years now and I have less pain, more mobility and increased strength (in most exercises) than I ever have before. I know, anecdotal, self reported, n=1.

What To Do Now?
Here is a video showing a hip flexor stretch, then an active mobility drill for the OPPOSITE shoulder. At the end he does a hip flexor stretch again to note the new change in range of motion (see for yourself).



If you are interested in the Z Health R Phase, you can pick it up by clicking on the icon on the upper right. Full disclosure: I do make a few bucks off each sale, but the price is the same to you and I would never recommend anything that sucks.

Here is another brand new study looking at static stretching. If you are still insisting upon doing it, the data below would say that if you are lifting 30 minutes after stretching the reduction in max force will be pretty much gone. I would still like to see people replace static stretching with mobility work.

See these related posts below

The Death of Static Stretching

Human tendon behaviour and adaptation, in vivo.

Stretching and Resistance Training and Tendon Effects

Static Stretching--Good or Bad?

Here is the abstract

Moderate-duration static stretch reduces active and passive plantar flexor moment but not Achilles tendon stiffness or active muscle length

Anthony D. Kay1,2 and Anthony J. Blazevich2,3

J Appl Physiol 106: 1249-1256, 2009. First published January 29, 2009;

1Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences, The University of Northampton, Northampton; 2Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance. Brunel University, Uxbridge, United Kingdom; and 3School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia

The effects of static stretch on muscle and tendon mechanical properties and muscle activation were studied in fifteen healthy human volunteers. Peak active and passive moment data were recorded during plantar flexion trials on an isokinetic dynamometer. Electromyography (EMG) monitoring of the triceps surae muscles, real-time motion analysis of the lower leg, and ultrasound imaging of the Achilles-medial gastrocnemius muscle-tendon junction were simultaneously conducted.

Subjects performed three 60-s static stretches before being retested 2 min and 30 min poststretch.

There were three main findings in the present study.

First, peak concentric moment was significantly reduced after stretch; 60% of the deficit recovered 30 min poststretch. This was accompanied by, and correlated with (r = 0.81; P < style="font-weight: bold;">

CONCLUSION
These data indicate that the stretching protocol used in this study induced losses in concentric moment that were accompanied by, and related to, reductions in neuromuscular activity, but they were not associated with alterations in tendon stiffness or shorter muscle operating length. Reductions in passive moment were associated with reductions in muscle stiffness, whereas tendon mechanics were unaffected by the stretch. Importantly, the impact on mechanical properties and neuromuscular activity was minimal at 30 min poststretch.

Crazy Mobility-- Ginastica Natural

Very interesting movements. I tried really hard to not make monkey noises during part of it since I would get even more crazy looks than normal.

Thanks to Rick for sending this one to me!

Just a reminder that I will be on iron radio this Friday, so get your questions into them and tune in
Mike T Nelson on Iron Radio-click here

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Headstands, Politicians and Iron Radio--oh my!

In This Issue

• Standing Backflip
• Iron Radio with Me
• Super Human Radio Update

Standing Backflip
For those who are on my newsletter (and if you are not, you can sign up on the upper right hand side) you know that one of my goals for this year is to do a standing back flip. The catch is that I have never taken any gymnastic courses EVER and I currently have some visual issues.

My right eye is suppressed, meaning that when most people view and objects, two images (one from each eye) go to the brain and the brain compares the images to combine them. Well, my brain gets two very different images and since the brain doesn't like to be confused, it "dumps" one of them to avoid confusion.

Both of my eyes track together, but my depth perception is the same as if a normal person had one eye closed. My goal is to get both of them to work together and regain more depth perception.

Now add in some new head positions and goofy 3D vision and it makes for some interesting video as you can see below!

My girlfriend Jodie showing me how it is done!


My attempts


I soon realized as soon as my head went down, I had no idea what the rest of my body was doing! Yikes!

I need to send a very special thanks to Olympic coach Pat at Minnesota Twisters for all the expert advice. She did an excellent job and if you are looking to learn gymnastics, check them out below

Minnesota Twisters




Mike T Nelson on Iron Radio this Friday
I will be on Iron Radio this coming Friday discussing
"Periodizing Training & Nutrition"

EVENT: Iron Radio With Mike T Nelson
DATE & TIME: Friday, April 3rd at 2:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=6770136
www.ironradio.org

Please tune in and send in some great questions! It will be a good time.

Special Request from Carl Lanore
Carl is the host of Super Human Radio and does an excellent job. Check out the interview on did with Carl on proprioception "2 Way Muscle Talk" a few weeks ago

Z Health, Proprioception, Neuroplasticity all on Super Human Radio

Carl recently did a very important episode, so see his comment below

"I have never asked anyone to help promote a show before... but this is different. The show that aired today has serious implications and ramifications to ALL OF US. Please listen and pass along to your members, friends and family. The link below is the permalink to this particular episode and will NOT change. Use this link when passing it along. Thanks in advance. "
Carl

Show # 277

03/20/2009

- MUST HEAR EPISODE - New Legislature Will Restrict Your Access To Healthy Food... This Is NOT a Hoax

Guest: Judith McGeary and Pete Kennedy

They're at it again! Politicians and special interest groups. If they have their way we will all lose access to health giving nutritious foods AND the family farm will , once and for all, be put to death. You must listen and pass this show on to others NOW.

Download this episode - http://www.superhumanradio.com/rss/2009/SHR_Show_277.mp3

Thanks and any comments, let me know!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Z Health Testimonial: Endurance Athlete

Z Health Testimonial Time
Mike is like a miracle worker. One time I was walking with him and he asked me if I had ever been in an accident. I said no. Then he said, You walk funny. He had me do just a few odd exercises and suddenly my whole gait felt different. It actually felt smooth. I didn't know it could feel like that. That whole episode lasted about 5 minutes. Unbelievable!

--Neil Erdmans, Team Strong Heart Race Across America (RAAM) Rider
Team Heartstrong finished 3rd in the 2007 RAAM

Mike's notes
Thanks Neil! Some of the Z Health drills are kind of odd, but as Dr. Cobb likes to say "you should be able to make changes at the speed of the nervous system" which is VERY fast.

I was a crew member for the RAAM race that year, and it was quite the experience to say the least. Be sure to check out my blog posts about it below.

Race Across America Update!

Team Strong Heart places 3rd in RAAM!!

Neil just before the big race in 2007


Be sure to follow Team Strong Heart for 2009 RAAM!

Check out Neil's blog at Nerdy Bike

Testimonial Time, Blogs, Fat Loss and Bone Health Connection?

Testimonial Time
I had the privilege to do a clinic on the basics of Z Health and how to maximize your training for some of the fine folks from 5 Ring Fitness this past weekend.

The recent clinic with Mike T Nelson, Master Z Trainer and RKC was a huge hit! He met the challenge remarkably well, covering a broad range of subject matter seamlessly and fielding everyone's questions with concise and germane answers.

He held the attention of the group with good natured humor and proved himself to be an able instructor. We at 5 Rings Fitness are very greatful for his time, thanks Mike, hope we can do that again in the future.

James Neidlinger, RKC
5 Ring Fitness

Check out his blog also at
5 Rings Fitness Blogspot

Thanks again James and it was a true pleasure to teach for yourself and the eager group of students you brought in!

If anyone else is interested a custom clinic, drop me a line by clicking on the blue text below.
Put in the subject line "Mike T Nelson Clinic info...'"
Email me by clicking here

If you are interested in KBs, Dragon Door has them for 30% off now!
Pick them up by clicking on this link
I want some Dragon Door Kettlebells!
I have many of the them and I absolutely love them. Stop paying big money for the gym with all the fancy machines.

Blog Updates!
I have added a few new blogs on the right, so check them out

Tommy's Blog
He is an assistant strength and condititiong coach here at the University of Minnesota and all around really smart guy. He is also under taking some crazy training too! See the link below
Tommy's blog

Bob Kaufer is a fellow Z Health guy and now has a new blog dedicated to his passion for health and fitness. Check it out below

Neuro Performance & Health

Aaron S speaks out on running!
My buddy and strength coach Aaron S has an excellent blog post about running. This is NOT your average post on the topic. Check it out below

Aaron Schwenzfeier's Blog: Running

Study Time
What do your bones have to do with fat loss? See the study below and my comments at the end.

The relationship of serum osteocalcin concentration to insulin secretion, sensitivity, and disposal with hypocaloric diet and resistance training.

Fernández-Real JM, Izquierdo M, Ortega F, Gorostiaga E, Gómez-Ambrosi J, Moreno-Navarrete JM, Frühbeck G, Martínez C, Idoate F, Salvador J, Forga L, Ricart W, Ibañez J. Department of Diabetes, Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Girona, CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición CB06/03/010, 17007 Girona, Catalonia, Spain. uden.jmfernandezreal@htrueta.scs.es


CONTEXT: Bone has recently been described as exhibiting properties of an endocrine organ by producing osteocalcin that increases insulin sensitivity and secretion in animal models.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: We aimed to evaluate circulating osteocalcin in association with insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion in three different studies in nondiabetic subjects: one cross-sectional study in 149 men (using minimal model), and two longitudinal studies in two independent groups (one formed by 26 women, and the other by 9 men and 11 women), after a mean of 7.3 and 16.8% weight loss, and after a mean of 8.7% weight loss plus regular exercise.

RESULTS: In the cross-sectional study, circulating osteocalcin was associated with insulin sensitivity, mainly in lean subjects, and with insulin secretion (only in lean subjects). A mean of 16.8%, but not 7.3% weight loss, led to significant increases in circulating osteocalcin.

However, a mean of 8.7% weight loss plus regular exercise led to the more pronounced effects on the serum osteocalcin concentration, which increased in parallel to reduced visceral fat mass, unchanged thigh muscle mass, and increased leg strength and force. The postintervention serum levels of osteocalcin were associated with both insulin sensitivity (r = 0.49; P = 0.03) and fasting triglycerides (r = -0.54; P = 0.01). The change in visceral fat was the parameter that best predicted the change in serum osteocalcin, once age, body mass index, and insulin sensitivity changes were controlled for (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION: Circulating osteocalcin could mediate the role of bone as an endocrine organ in humans.

My Notes:
I find this study fascinating! I don't think many (I sure as heck would not) have thought of bone has having a potential effect upon fat loss!

Wow. It goes to show that it is all connected.

"All the body, all the time" --Dr. Eric Cobb

I have some thoughts that bone may regulate hypertrophy, but I have not seen any literature on that aspect yet. Muscles attach to bone and perhaps in some people, bone strength may be a limiting factor, thus working like an arthrokinetic reflex, inhibiting muscle force creation in the brain.

Arthro, who? Below is a post on the arthrokinetic reflex that is taught in Z Health R Phase.

Jammed Joints and Muscular Weakness--Stability and Mobility

For those that prefer video, here it is for ya!

Summary Keep looking at the body as a WHOLE and you will be on track!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

2009 Predictions for Health, Fitness and Athletic Performance

So I wrote this back in November and have not had time to even proof it and get it out and now 1/4 of 2009 is over! Time flies.

I have only listed 5 here and if you want to see the rest of the list I will only be sending it out to my loyal newsletter subscribers. It only takes a few seconds to sign up to my newsletter, so go to the upper right hand side of this blog and enter in your name and email. I HATE spam and will never sell your address or send you crap. Plus you will be the first to hear about any upcoming events, products and news.

The rest of the list will go out to my newsletter on Monday, March 23 at noon CST, so sign up now.

Here ya go!

Mike T Nelson's Predictions for Health, Fitness and Athletic Performance in 2009

"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr

In no particular order, here are my thoughts

1) Movement and Mood
I think more people will look at the connection between movement and mood. All things being equal, the better your movement, the better your mood. Notice your movement when you are sick--usually not very good. How do you know when Fido is sick? Fido's movement goes in the hopper as he mopes around. Fido can't speak to you and tell you he is sick, you infer that from his movement. Fix your movement and note the difference! This is a huge reason why I love Z Health. See also

Mood and Mobility

Dopamine, Mood, Movement and Exercise

2) Kettlebells are here to stay
Every year, more and more people learn about kettlebells and they are here to stay. Kettlebells are not new, and have been used for well over 300 years.

The kettlebell appears in a 1704 Russian Dictionary (Cherkikh, 1994). I love KBs, but I agree that they are NOT the ONLY implement to use. If you only use KBs--great, but it is not a requirement. KBs provide a great way to perform many great exercises like KB swings, KB snatches, presses, cleans, etc.

Just make sure to find a good instructor to show you have to use them properly. And be sure to stay far far away from jokers like this below (click on it to open)

Kettleworx As Seen on KARE 11 TV Can Kiss My....

3) Painful hands on (massage) work will be used less
As more people investigate the nervous system, there will be less and less use of painful techniques for hands on work.
Creating pain is NOT needed to get the desired result, and many times it may be going in the wrong direction.

If you are trying to get OUT of pain, why would you do things that put you IN pain?

If you come in to see someone and complain about a painful right shoulder, I could take a hot poker and stab your right ankle with it. The pain in your right shoulder will feel much less. I know this is an extreme example (and no I don't use red hot pokers or branding irons) , but the idea is similar.

Despite popular belief, even scar work does NOT need to be painful. I've had great scar work done on myself and none of it was painful.

If someone wants to use an implement on you, I would politely pass. Check that, I would actually get up off the table and run out the door as fast as you could. Send a check in the mail for payment later.

You don't need someone with a dull spoon digging around your rotator cuff area. It is true that these techniques can result in temporary relief, but long term I believe there is a better way. cough cough, insert Z Health Level 4 plug here.

Don't try to blow up the safe when you just need the correct combination to open the door.

For more info, see the links below
Myth Busters: Painful Soft Tissue Work


4) Mechanical vs Neurological Solutions
The current trend seems to still be in the mechanical realm for performance and pain reduction. Oh, your hip flexors are "tight" and that further causes your glutes to be inhibited (reciprocal inhibition) so we need to stretch your hip flexors and strengthen your glutes.

While I believe you can get good results with this approach in many cases, but remember that the WHOLE body is HIGHLY INTEGRATED and it is very rarely that simple (although sometimes it is). We need to take a WHOLE BODY approach. Many times I see hip flexor and glute issues traced back to the feet/ankles being goofed up.

A pure biomechanical approach will provide some results, but at some point you will run into a ceiling (stole that one from Dr. Cobb). At some point we need to think WHY is a certain muscle tight/weak, etc and we end up at the nervous system.

The nervous system is what is TELLING the muscles to be tight, so for OPTIMAL results we need to use a system that targets the nervous system (hence, why I love Z Health, I know some are tired of hearing that by now).

If you believe that the nervous system holds all the keys, and most will agree with that, why would you go back to a pure biomechanical approach then?

When I started college many years ago (ok, it was 1992 and I suddenly feel old now since I am STILL in freaking college.) I was convinced that the biomechanical approach was the best and even completed a MS in Mechanical Engineering focusing on biomechanics. I soon realized that I needed to go further upstream into the brain and nervous system since that is what is really controlling the show! Hence that part about me still being in college.


5) Vision Training will be more mainstream
Rumor has it that Nike has a vision training system due out in 2009. Most people think of vision as only visual acuity (how well you can see the numbers and letters at the doc's office). I am 20/20, so I am all good, right?

There are actually many more components to vision such as the ability to see in 3D (since we have 2 eyes), the ability to switch from a close to a far target (looking up from my laptop here my eyes have to change focus to see who is walking towards me for example) and other components.

Remember that the eyes are controlled by MUSCLES! Muscles can be trained.

Keep in mind the SAID principle----ALL visual work will have to be made SAID specific as part of the progression! This point will most likely be lost. Z Health S Phase contains many many great visual training skills. Drop me a line if you are interested---awesome stuff

Summary
I have more predictions, but you will have to sign up to my newsletter by entering your name and email in the box on the upper right hand side. Do so by this coming Monday, March 23 at noon CST as I will be sending out my newsletter with the rest of list then.

I promise I will NEVER send you any spam because I hate stupid spam.

That is it for my crystal ball look into 2009. What are your predictions/thoughts? Agree or disagree? Am I off my rocker completely?

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Fear and Learning part 2

I had some great questions about the post below regarding fear and learning. Still working on finding someone to video the presentations and may be able to round up some other presenters.

If you or anyone you know can shoot a DVD for a reasonable price, drop a note in the comments or email me directly at michaelTnelson AT yahoo DOT com.

See this post below for background:

Erasing Human Fear Response? New Study

Here is a condensed, bare bones outline.

Higher tension = greaer potential for higher threat (fear)= increased amygdala response, so more "fear mediated" learning.

Fear mediated learning works, but at a high cost (more collateral damage)

Extreme case is post traumatic stress disorder. Can we block "collateral damage" with beta blockers? The study referenced in the blog post above says yes.

Perhaps decreased heart rate (HR) could have a similar effect? Is the combination of increased HR and adrenaline the mechanism to "burn it in"?

Summary
Less threat (fear) + positive cues= more dopamine= increased neuro chunking = better motor learning (cool study showing that dopamine was required for chunking, blocked it with drugs and no chunking)

For those that don't know--chunking is the ability to combine more "primitive" motor movements into a more complicated task; so it is critical for motor learning.

Effects on Pain?
Being in chronic pain tends to mediate more fear based learning.

You need to be able to move without pain and then not to EXPECT pain with movements.

Thoughts? Make any sense?
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Z Health Testimonial from Joe Pavel and More Nervous System Research

Z Health Testimonial
The testimonials keep rolling in! Yeah ha! When I open my inbox and find a really cool testimonial in there, I have to admit that it TOTALLY (like I still live in the 80s or something) makes my day.

It is WHY I do this, spend all the time reading studies, trying stuff out, talking to others---it is to get RESULTS since that is why athletes pay money!

I can't take much of the credit since I never did an exercise for them. They have to put the time into it each day and do their exercises in good form. Nobody will ever be able to do that for you. I am just providing the stimulus to get them moving in the correct direction.

I truly believe your body wants to be healthy and perform at a much higher level, it just needs the right "push" at times to get moving in the correct direction again.

Here is one Joe Pavel, RKC, Z Health R, I Phase Trainer put in his newsletter recently

Since taking the Z-health certifications last spring and Summer I have…

1. Signed up and participated in judo classes. Just yesterday I received my yellow belt.

2. Rode a unicycle.

3. I can ride a Ripstick for however long I want

4. I got rhythm- I know this is hard to believe but it is true. I can do more than the "white man dance" at weddings now, which makes my wife very happy!

5. I've fixed my aches, pains, eyes and previous injuries, with the help of my Z- Health Master Trainer Mike T. Nelson.

Why did this all happen?

It happened because I move better now than I ever have in my whole life. That's from doing daily Z-Health drills and from seeing a Z-Health coach.

It works better than anything else I've ever tried at fixing your bodies restrictions to improve your movement skills because every problem is a movement problem.

No drugs, no surgery no long recovery, no needles, no trips to the hospital where you might end up with flesh eating disease (this happened recently to a woman where I live.)

Just simple, precise, joint movements can deliver the right release from a restriction, instantly.

After the session I did with Joe recently, I got this email

Thanks for the great Z session on Saturday. I crushed Ben my partner in judo when we randoried, wrassled. But man was I sore yesterday from the new nervous system stimulis. -Joe Pavel

Congrats to Joe for doing his "homework" also and getting his reps in! Nice work! If you are interested in some Z Health training, be sure to drop me a line.

Check out Joe's Blog below
Kool Kettlebells

On to some more studies on the nervous system. My notes at the end of each as always. Here we go!


Heat reactions in multiple sclerosis: an overlooked paradigm in the study of comparative fatigue.

Marino FE. School of Human Movement Studies & Exercise & Sports Science Laboratories, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. fmarino@csu.edu.au


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating and debilitating disease characterised by a range of symptoms such as motor dysfunction and muscle weakness. A significant MS symptom is heat sensitivity so that exposure to heat will increase body temperature and consequently the appearance of neurological signs. Although some people with MS can undertake exercise, it is thought to be limited by the sensitivity to heat and the subsequent rise in body temperature which occurs.


It has been found that central fatigue is a determining factor in muscle activation and performance in normal healthy subjects. However, it is unknown whether thermal strain also induces central fatigue in MS even though muscular fatigue in MS is due mainly to central rather than peripheral factors.


CONCLUSION: This review focuses on the similarities in the manifestation of central fatigue in both MS and healthy subjects with reference to thermal strain and heat reactions.

My Notes: Be sure to check out the other studies I covered that look at the effects of heat below

Performance Research for February: Central fatigue exercise 3

On to another study!

Locomotor exercise induces long-lasting impairments in the capacity of the human motor cortex to voluntarily activate knee extensor muscles.

Sidhu SK, Bentley DJ, Carroll TJ. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.


Muscle fatigue is a reduction in the capacity to exert force and may involve a "central" component originating in the brain and/or spinal cord. Here we examined whether supraspinal factors contribute to impaired central drive after locomotor endurance exercise. On 2 separate days, 10 moderately active individuals completed a locomotor cycling exercise session or a control session. Brief (2 s) and sustained (30 s) isometric knee extension contractions were completed before and after locomotor exercise consisting of eight, 5-min bouts of cycling at 80% of maximum workload. In the control session, subjects completed the isometric contractions in a rested state.

Twitch responses to supramaximal motor nerve stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation were obtained to assess peripheral force-generating capacity and voluntary activation. Maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force during brief contractions decreased by 23 +/- 6.3% after cycling exercise and remained 12 +/- 2.8% below baseline 45 min later (F(1,9) > 15.5;

CONCLUSION: Thus locomotor exercise caused a long-lasting impairment in the capacity of the motor cortex to drive the knee extensors. Force was reduced more during sustained Maximum voluntary contraction after locomotor exercise than in the control session.
Peripheral mechanisms contributed relatively more to this force reduction in the control session, whereas supraspinal fatigue played a greater role in sustained Maximum voluntary contraction reduction after locomotor exercise.

My Notes: Interesting study, but it goes to show that trying to tease out central (aka brain) issues from peripheral (muscle) is very hard to do and in reality it is probably a combination of both.



Cortical voluntary activation of the human knee extensors can be reliably estimated using transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Sidhu SK, Bentley DJ, Carroll TJ. Health and Exercise Science, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.


The objective of this study was to determine if a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) method of quantifying the degree to which the motor cortex drives the muscles during voluntary efforts can be reliably applied to the human knee extensors. Although the technique for estimating "cortical" voluntary activation (VA) is valid and reliable for elbow flexors and wrist extensors, evidence that it can be applied to muscles of the lower limb is necessary if twitch interpolation with TMS is to be widely used in research or clinical practice. Eight subjects completed two identical test sessions involving brief isometric knee extensions at forces ranging from rest to maximal voluntary contraction (MVC).


Electromyographic (EMG) responses to TMS of the motor cortex and electrical stimulation of the femoral nerve were recorded from the rectus femoris (RF) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles, and knee extension twitch forces evoked by stimulation were measured. The amplitude of TMS-evoked twitch forces decreased linearly between 25% and 100% MVC (r(2) > 0.9), and produced reliable estimations of resting twitch and VA (ICC(2,1) > 0.85). The reliability and size of cortical measures of VA were comparable to those derived from motor nerve stimulation when the resting twitches were estimated on the basis of as few as three TMS trials.


CONCLUSION: Thus, transcranial magnetic stimulation measures of voluntary activation may provide a reliable and valid tool in studies investigating central fatigue due to exercise and neurological deficits in neural drive in the lower limbs.

My Notes: This may be a cool tool to help sort out the differences.

That is it for now! Any comments, let me know
Rock on
Mike T Nelson