Impact of Muscle Fatique to Sport Performance - Essay Example

Impact of Muscle Fatigue to Sport Performance Introduction Muscle fatigue is one of the issues which athletes often encounter in their career and related activities. For which reason, various sports therapists and trainers often come up with ways in order to reduce athletes’ muscle fatigue. This paper shall discuss the impact of muscle fatigue on sports performance. It shall also discuss two methods on quantifying the level of muscle fatigue. Body Muscle and fatigue impact significantly on sports performance because tired and fatigued muscles cannot efficiently store and dispense energy; and it is not capable of protecting the bones “against overloading by heel strike-initiated shock waves” (Zatsiorsky, 2000, p. 582). As the muscles get tired, they are unable to carry and manage their usual and expected load.

As a result, the skeletal system or the bones end up absorbing the shock of the physical activity; this can unfortunately often lead to stress fractures on affected bones. Eston, Byrne and Twist (2003) discuss that impairments on muscles, including the reduced strength and power of the muscles are often immediate; and they impact on a person for a prolonged period of time. The most important symptom of damage in the performance of athletes is on the presence of muscular damage and the impact of such muscle damage means the reduction of agility, endurance, flexibility, and speed (Eston, Byrne, and Twist, 2003).

For athletes, this reduction is a significant negative impact in their sports performance because it can lead to failure in the field and in the courts. If unaddressed, it may eventually lead to the end of a career in sports or worse, it may often lead to injuries and accidents in the playing field. The importance of addressing this problem is therefore a priority among athletes if a career in this field is a major consideration. A study by Reilly, Drust, and Clarke (2008) sets an example of the impact of muscle fatigue through their study.

They discuss that 90 minutes of intense football can cause the muscles to generate force declines. Such impairment can be seen in the reduction of work-rate in the latter part of a game. Glycogen stories can be reduced at the end of the game, especially if the same intensity of play is not reduced (Reilly, Drust, and Clarke, 2008). In the process of intense fatigue during the football game, thermoregulatory strain may also be experienced by the athlete and cause him to decline in his physical performance and have a reduced central impetus from the nervous system.

Reduced muscle strength may also lead to a higher predisposition of the athlete to injury, especially in the lower limbs (Reilly, Drust, and Clarke, 2008). Central fatigue may also become apparent, and this may impact on the muscle performance of the athlete. For which reason, continuous intense activity must often be broken up by substitutions during the game, including the appropriate nutritional intake as well as pre-cooling and warm-up procedures (Reilly, Drust, and Clarke, 2008). Athletes’ endurance training and pacing strategies also assist in the use of energy and muscles during the sports activity.

There are different methods of quantifying the level of muscle fatigue. One of these methods is the use of the electromyography. The electromyography is a test used to evaluate the health of the muscles, as well as the nerves which are controlling the muscles (Hoch, 2010). Fatigue occurs when there is intense activity in the muscles and this fatigue as well as any change in the muscle activity can be manifested in the electromyogram in terms of time of frequency domains (Edwards, et.al., 1989).

In relation to time domain assessment in the electromygram signal, the integrated EMG (iEMG) is often used; and in the frequency domain assessment of the EMG signal, the power frequency of the EMG is used (MPF) (Technion, 2006). As changes in the MPF of the EMG may sometimes indicate a decrease in the conduction velocity of the muscle fibers, there may also be an improved synchronization of motor units which can sometimes be seen during fatigue (Technion, 2006). Differences in the fatigue and the EMG signal in time and frequency domain is essential in standardizing physical conditions.

Muscle fatigue measured through the EMG can be carried out after an exhausting and prolonged cycling exercise (Lehmann, 1999). During this test, the results may indicate delayed muscle activation and an impaired coordination after the muscles are fatigued. A delayed increase in the muscle activity as seen in the EMG may sometimes be interpreted as fatigue. Moreover, the use of accessory muscles can also indicate a strain in the muscles which is forcing one group of muscles to support their activity and to also partly carry out their load (Lehmann, 1999).

Through this test, muscle fatigue can be measured in terms of how it compromises the rest of the muscles and how it reduces their efficacy within the conduct of specific activities. Another means of quantifying muscle fatigue is through muscle biopsy. Muscle biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure which involves the use of a needle in order to extract a small portion of the muscle for the conduct of tests, including muscle fatigue (Chahin and Engel, 2008). This test is often used to detect fatigue, as well as to detect the presence of diseases and muscle defects, including atrophy, dermatomyositis, inflammation, muscular dystrophy, necrosis, and polymyositis (Ogiela, 2010).

It is also used in order to evaluate if the patient suffers from diseases of the muscles or the nerves. Conclusion The discussion above portrays that muscle fatigue often reduces the quality of sports performance. Measures of quantifying muscle fatigue include the EMG and muscle biopsy. Both methods are used to review muscle strength and load, and in some instances to review for the presence of any disease. Regardless of methods, the importance of building strength and endurance of muscles has been established by this paper as essential aspects of reducing and avoiding muscle fatigue.

References Chahin, N. & Engel, A. (2008). Correlation of muscle biopsy, clinical course, and outcome in PM and sporadic IBM. Neurology, vol. 70, no. 6, pp. 418-424. Edwards, R. Gibson, H., & Gregson, J. (1989). The effect of length on frequencydependant force generation in human quadriceps muscle. J Physiol 418: 163P. Eston, R., Byrne, C., & Twist, C. (2003). Muscle function after exercise-induced muscle damage: Considerations for athletic performance in children and adults. Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 85-96. Hoch, D. (2011). Electromyography.

Retrieved 23 December 2011 from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003929.htm Lehmann, M. (1999). Overload, performane incompetence, and regeneration in sport. New York: Springer. Ogiela, D. (2010). Muscle Biopsy. New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2011 from http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/muscle-biopsy/overview.html Reilly, T., Drust, B. & Clarke, N. (2008). Muscle Fatigue during Football Match-Play. Sports Medicine, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 357-367(11). Technion (2006).

EMG and Different Forms of Fatigue. Retrieved 24 December 2011 from http://www.technion.ac.il/~olegbm/EMG%20and%20different%20form%20of%20fatigue.pdf Zatsiorsky, V. (2000). Biomechanics in sport: performance enhancement and injury prevention New York: John Wiley & Sons.