The control of respiratory pressures and neuromuscular activation to increase force production in trained martial arts practitioners

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Walters, S, Hoffman, B, MacAskill, W, Johnson, MA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8226-9438, Sharpe, GR ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4575-2332 and Mills, DE, 2021. The control of respiratory pressures and neuromuscular activation to increase force production in trained martial arts practitioners. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 121 (12), pp. 3333-3347. ISSN 1439-6319

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04800-7

Abstract

Purpose: The mechanisms that explain the ability of trained martial arts practitioners to produce and resist greater forces than untrained individuals to aid combat performance are not fully understood. We investigated whether the greater ability of trained martial arts practitioners to produce and resist forces was associated with an enhanced control of respiratory pressures and neuromuscular activation of the respiratory, abdominal, and pelvic floor musculature.

Methods: Nine trained martial arts practitioners and nine untrained controls were instrumented with skin-surface electromyography (EMG) on the sternocleidomastoid, rectus abdominis, and the group formed by the transverse abdominal and internal oblique muscles (EMGtra/io). A multipair oesophageal EMG electrode catheter measured gastric (Pg), transdiaphragmatic (Pdi), and oesophageal (Pe) pressures and EMG of the crural diaphragm (EMGdi). Participants performed Standing Isometric Unilateral Chest Press (1) and Standing Posture Control (2) tasks.

Results: The trained group produced higher forces normalised to body mass2/3 (0.033 ± 0.01 vs. 0.025 ± 0.007 N/kg2/3 mean force in Task 1), lower Pe, and higher Pdi in both tasks. Additionally, they produced higher Pg (73 ± 42 vs. 49 ± 19 cmH2O mean Pg) and EMGtra/io in Task 1 and higher EMGdi in Task 2. The onset of Pg with respect to the onset of force production was earlier, and the relative contributions of Pg/Pe and Pdi/Pe were higher in the trained group in both tasks.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that trained martial arts practitioners utilised a greater contribution of abdominal and diaphragm musculature to chest wall recruitment and higher Pdi to produce and resist higher forces.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	European Journal of Applied Physiology
Creators:	Walters, S., Hoffman, B., MacAskill, W., Johnson, M.A., Sharpe, G.R. and Mills, D.E.
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date:	December 2021
Volume:	121
Number:	12
ISSN:	1439-6319
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s00421-021-04800-7 DOI 1496296 Other
Rights:	Post-prints are subject to Springer Nature re-use terms
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	09 Feb 2022 09:43
Last Modified:	26 Aug 2022 03:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/45570