Stiffness changes and fibre type transitions in rat soleus muscle produced by jumping training

✍ Scribed by M. Pousson; C. Pérot; F. Goubel

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 448 KB
• Volume: 419
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0031-6768
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00372997

✦ Synopsis

Rat soleus muscles were overloaded with intent to induce a relative increase in fast fibres and modifications in muscular stiffness. The overloading technique was a training period consisting of an 11-week vertical jump programme. The method of controlled releases was used to obtain tension/extension curves characterizing the elastic behaviour of the soleus. Fibre typing was made by myofibrillar adenosine 5'-triphosphatase staining. With regard to a control group, training resulted in a relative decrease in type I fibres for the benefit of type II fibres. Training also induced a decrease in muscle stiffness as attested notably by significant differences in maximal extension. These results are interpreted in terms of modifications occurring in the active fraction of the so-called series elastic component.