Intermittent stretch training of rabbit plantarflexor muscles increases soleus mass and serial sarcomere number

De Jaeger, Dominique; Joumaa, Venus; Herzog, Walter

Intermittent stretch training of rabbit plantarflexor muscles increases soleus mass and serial sarcomere number

dc.contributor.author	De Jaeger, Dominique
dc.contributor.author	Joumaa, Venus
dc.contributor.author	Herzog, Walter
dc.date.accessioned	2018-09-19T20:48:39Z
dc.date.available	2018-09-19T20:48:39Z
dc.date.issued	2015-06-15
dc.description.abstract	In humans, enhanced joint range of motion is observed after static stretch training and results either from an increased stretch tolerance or from a change in the biomechanical properties of the muscle-tendon unit. We investigated the effects of an intermittent stretch training on muscle biomechanical and structural variables. The left plantarflexors muscles of seven anesthetized New Zealand (NZ) White rabbits were passively and statically stretched three times a week for 4 wk, while the corresponding right muscles were used as nonstretched contralateral controls. Before and after the stretching protocol, passive torque produced by the left plantarflexor muscles as a function of the ankle angle was measured. The left and right plantarflexor muscles were harvested from dead rabbits and used to quantify possible changes in muscle structure. Significant mass and serial sarcomere number increases were observed in the stretched soleus but not in the plantaris or medial gastrocnemius. This difference in adaptation between the plantarflexors is thought to be the result of their different fiber type composition and pennation angles. Neither titin isoform nor collagen amount was modified in the stretched compared with the control soleus muscle. Passive torque developed during ankle dorsiflexion was not modified after the stretch training on average, but was decreased in five of the seven experimental rabbits. Thus, an intermittent stretching program similar to those used in humans can produce a change in the muscle structure of NZ White rabbits, which was associated in some rabbits with a change in the biomechanical properties of the muscle-tendon unit.	en_US
dc.description.grantingagency	Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Foundation Scheme	en_US
dc.description.grantingagency	Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council - Discovery Grant	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	De Jaeger, D., Joumaa, V., & Herzog, W. (2015). Intermittent stretch training of rabbit plantarflexor muscles increases soleus mass and serial sarcomere number. Journal of Applied Physiology, 118(12), 1467–1473. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00515.2014	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00515.2014	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1522-1601
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/107775
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.publisher	American Physiology Society	en_US
dc.publisher.department	Human Performance Lab	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Kinesiology	en_US
dc.publisher.hasversion	Post-print	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en_US
dc.publisher.policy	https://www.physiology.org/author-info.permissions	en_US
dc.rights	Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0	en_US
dc.subject	sarcomereogensis	en_US
dc.subject	muscle	en_US
dc.title	Intermittent stretch training of rabbit plantarflexor muscles increases soleus mass and serial sarcomere number	en_US
dc.type	journal article	en_US