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Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Children’s maximal muscle strength is consistently lower than adults’, even when normalized to body size. Lower volitional muscle activation (VA) in children is often considered one of the main reasons for age-related differences in muscular performance. However, some recent studies ha...

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Autores principales: WOODS, STACEY, O’MAHONEY, CARAGH, MAYNARD, JAMES, DOTAN, RAFFY, TENENBAUM, GERSHON, FILHO, EDSON, FALK, BAREKET
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9012528/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34967802
http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002853
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author WOODS, STACEY
O’MAHONEY, CARAGH
MAYNARD, JAMES
DOTAN, RAFFY
TENENBAUM, GERSHON
FILHO, EDSON
FALK, BAREKET
author_facet WOODS, STACEY
O’MAHONEY, CARAGH
MAYNARD, JAMES
DOTAN, RAFFY
TENENBAUM, GERSHON
FILHO, EDSON
FALK, BAREKET
author_sort WOODS, STACEY
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: Children’s maximal muscle strength is consistently lower than adults’, even when normalized to body size. Lower volitional muscle activation (VA) in children is often considered one of the main reasons for age-related differences in muscular performance. However, some recent studies have reported similar VA in children and adults, bringing into question whether there is indeed an age-related increase in VA. The purpose of this review was to determine the effect of age on VA during maximal isometric contractions. METHODS: Literature examining VA differences, using twitch interpolation in children (7–14 yr) and adults (16–28 yr), was systematically reviewed. Of the 1915 studies initially identified, 19 data sets were eligible for inclusion in the qualitative analysis and 14 in the quantitative meta-analysis (comprising 207 children and 193 adults). RESULTS: Significantly lower VA in children was reported in 9/19 (47%) studies. A random-effects meta-analysis found a strong effect of age on VA, supporting lower VA in children compared with adults (Hedges’ g = 1.55; confidence interval: 0.9–2.13). Moderator analysis included muscle group, sex, children’s age, stimulation number (singlet, multiple), type (electric, magnetic), and location (muscle, nerve), of which only muscle group was significant (P < 0.001). A significant Egger’s regression test and asymmetrical funnel plot suggest that publication bias may be present. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings suggest that compared with adults, children activate their motor-unit pool less compared with adults. Moreover, that the degree of VA increase with age may be influenced by the muscle examined (upper vs lower extremity). However, more research is needed to elucidate the influence of this possible factor, as the current review contains limited data from upper body muscles. The developmental mechanism responsible for children’s lower VA requires further research.
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spelling pubmed-90125282022-04-20 Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis WOODS, STACEY O’MAHONEY, CARAGH MAYNARD, JAMES DOTAN, RAFFY TENENBAUM, GERSHON FILHO, EDSON FALK, BAREKET Med Sci Sports Exerc Basic Sciences INTRODUCTION: Children’s maximal muscle strength is consistently lower than adults’, even when normalized to body size. Lower volitional muscle activation (VA) in children is often considered one of the main reasons for age-related differences in muscular performance. However, some recent studies have reported similar VA in children and adults, bringing into question whether there is indeed an age-related increase in VA. The purpose of this review was to determine the effect of age on VA during maximal isometric contractions. METHODS: Literature examining VA differences, using twitch interpolation in children (7–14 yr) and adults (16–28 yr), was systematically reviewed. Of the 1915 studies initially identified, 19 data sets were eligible for inclusion in the qualitative analysis and 14 in the quantitative meta-analysis (comprising 207 children and 193 adults). RESULTS: Significantly lower VA in children was reported in 9/19 (47%) studies. A random-effects meta-analysis found a strong effect of age on VA, supporting lower VA in children compared with adults (Hedges’ g = 1.55; confidence interval: 0.9–2.13). Moderator analysis included muscle group, sex, children’s age, stimulation number (singlet, multiple), type (electric, magnetic), and location (muscle, nerve), of which only muscle group was significant (P < 0.001). A significant Egger’s regression test and asymmetrical funnel plot suggest that publication bias may be present. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings suggest that compared with adults, children activate their motor-unit pool less compared with adults. Moreover, that the degree of VA increase with age may be influenced by the muscle examined (upper vs lower extremity). However, more research is needed to elucidate the influence of this possible factor, as the current review contains limited data from upper body muscles. The developmental mechanism responsible for children’s lower VA requires further research. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2022-05 2021-12-30 /pmc/articles/PMC9012528/ /pubmed/34967802 http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002853 Text en Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Sports Medicine. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) , where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.
spellingShingle Basic Sciences
WOODS, STACEY
O’MAHONEY, CARAGH
MAYNARD, JAMES
DOTAN, RAFFY
TENENBAUM, GERSHON
FILHO, EDSON
FALK, BAREKET
Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_full Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_fullStr Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_short Increase in Volitional Muscle Activation from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
title_sort increase in volitional muscle activation from childhood to adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis
topic Basic Sciences
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9012528/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34967802
http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002853
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