Effects of 8 weeks of bed rest with or without resistance exercise intervention on the volume of the muscle tissue and the adipose tissues of the thigh.

The present study aims to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of bed rest, with or without resistance exercise intervention, on the volumes of muscle tissue and the intramuscular, intermuscular, and subcutaneous adipose tissues of the thigh. Twenty men were included, who were randomly assigned in three groups: resistance exercises group (RE group), resistance exercises with whole-body vibration group (VRE group), and nonexercise control group (CTR group). The RE and VRE groups performed resistance exercises during 8 weeks of bed rest (3 days per week).

Association between altered motor control of trunk muscles and head and neck injuries in elite footballers - An exploratory study.

Background: Head and neck injuries are common in football. Injuries such as concussion can have serious consequences. Previous studies have shown that size and function of trunk muscles are predictive of lower limb injuries in professional Australian Football League (AFL) players.

Activation of the hip adductor muscles varies during a simulated weight-bearing task.

Objective: To investigate the pattern of muscle activation of the individual hip adductor muscles using a standardised simulated unilateral weight-bearing task.

Design: A repeated measures design.

Setting: Laboratory.

Evaluation of neck muscle size: long-term reliability and comparison of methods.

Although it is important for prospective studies, the reliability of quantitative measures of cervical muscle size on magnetic resonance imaging is not well established. The aim of the current work was to assess the long-term reliability of measurements of cervical muscle size. In addition, we examined the utility of selecting specific sub-regions of muscles at each vertebral level, averaging between sides of the body, and pooling muscles into larger groups.

Muscle atrophy, pain, and damage in bed rest reduced by resistive (vibration) exercise.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a short-duration (5-6 min, 3 d·wk) resistive exercise program with (RVE) or without (RE) whole-body vibration in reducing muscle atrophy in the lower limb during prolonged inactivity when compared with that in an inactive control group.

Methods: As part of the second Berlin BedRest Study, 24 male subjects underwent 60 d of head-down tilt bed rest. Using magnetic resonance imaging, muscle volumes of the individual muscles of the lower limb were calculated before and at various intervals during and after bed rest.

Hypertrophy in the cervical muscles and thoracic discs in bed rest?

The impact of prolonged bed rest on the cervical and upper thoracic spine is unknown. In the 2nd Berlin BedRest Study (BBR2-2), 24 male subjects underwent 60-day bed rest and performed either no exercise, resistive exercise, or resistive exercise with whole body vibration. Subjects were followed for 2 yr after bed rest.

Heterogeneous atrophy occurs within individual lower limb muscles during 60 days of bed rest.

To better understand disuse muscle atrophy, via magnetic resonance imaging, we sequentially measured muscle cross-sectional area along the entire length of all individual muscles from the hip to ankle in nine male subjects participating in 60-day head-down tilt bed rest (2nd Berlin BedRest Study; BBR2-2). We hypothesized that individual muscles would not atrophy uniformly along their length such that different regions of an individual muscle would atrophy to different extents. This hypothesis was confirmed for the adductor magnus, vasti, lateral hamstrings, medial hamstrings, rectus femoris, medial gastrocnemius, lateral gastrocnemius, tibialis posterior, flexor hallucis longus, flexor digitorum longus, peroneals, and tibialis anterior muscles (P ≤ 0.

Differential atrophy of the postero-lateral hip musculature during prolonged bedrest and the influence of exercise countermeasures.

As part of the 2nd Berlin BedRest Study (BBR2-2), we investigated the pattern of muscle atrophy of the postero-lateral hip and hamstring musculature during prolonged inactivity and the effectiveness of two exercise countermeasures. Twenty-four male subjects underwent 60 days of head-down tilt bedrest and were assigned to an inactive control (CTR), resistive vibration exercise (RVE), or resistive exercise alone (RE) group. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the hip and thigh was taken before, during, and at end of bedrest.

Estimation of changes in volume of individual lower-limb muscles using magnetic resonance imaging (during bed-rest).

Muscle size in the lower limb is commonly assessed in neuromuscular research as it correlates with muscle function and some approaches have been assessed for their ability to provide valid estimates of muscle volume. Work to date has not examined the ability of different measurement approaches (such as cross-sectional area (CSA) measures on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging) to accurately track changes in muscle volume as a result of an intervention, such as exercise, injury or disuse. Here we assess whether (a) the percentage change in muscle CSA in 17 lower-limb muscles during 56 days bed-rest, as assessed by five different algorithms, lies within 0.

Resistive vibration exercise reduces lower limb muscle atrophy during 56-day bed-rest.

Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a resistive vibration exercise countermeasure during prolonged bed-rest in preventing lower-limb muscle atrophy.

Methods: 20 male subjects underwent 56-days of bed-rest and were assigned to either an inactive control, or a countermeasure group which performed high-load resistive exercises (including squats, heel raises and toe raises) with whole-body vibration. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lower-limbs was performed at two-weekly intervals.

Influence of vibration resistance training on knee extensor and plantar flexor size, strength, and contractile speed characteristics after 60 days of bed rest.

Spaceflight and bed rest (BR) result in loss of muscle mass and strength. This study evaluated the effectiveness of resistance training and vibration-augmented resistance training to preserve thigh (quadriceps femoris) and calf (triceps surae) muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), isometric contractile speed, and neural activation (electromyogram) during 60 days of BR. Male subjects participating in the second Berlin Bed Rest Study underwent BR only [control (CTR), n = 9], BR with resistance training (RE; n = 7), or BR with vibration-augmented resistance training (RVE; n = 7).

Differential atrophy of the lower-limb musculature during prolonged bed-rest.

Patients with medical, orthopaedic and surgical conditions are often assigned to bed-rest and/or immobilised in orthopaedic devices. Although such conditions lead to muscle atrophy, no studies have yet considered differential atrophy of the lower-limb musculature during inactivity to enable the development of rehabilitative exercise programmes. Bed-rest is a model used to simulate the effects of spaceflight and physical inactivity.

Ultrasound imaging assessment of abdominal muscle function during drawing-in of the abdominal wall: an intrarater reliability study.

Study Design: Test-retest intrarater reliability study.

Objective: To examine reliability of abdominal musculature measurements across a broad range of conditions for a physical therapist newly trained in assessment using rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI).

Background: RUSI has previously been used to assess abdominal muscle function during a drawing-in maneuver of the anterior abdominal wall, and measurements conducted by an experienced assessor have been validated by comparison with magnetic resonance imaging.