Changes in human skeletal muscle length during stimulated eccentric muscle actions

Following eccentric exercise, increases in muscle length alter the length-tension relation of skeletal muscle. However, its unclear if this change occurs during eccentric exercise. Therefore, 70 eccentric actions of the knee extensors of one leg (with superimposed electrical stimulation) were performed at 100 degrees s, from full extension to full flexion. Angle-specific eccentric force was recorded throughout. Force decreased at all angles although this was non-uniform. At 70 degrees, force decreased by 25%, whereas at 130 degrees, force decreased by 41%. Initial peak force was recorded at 100 degrees (590 +/- 232 N); the exercise bout induced a 21% decrease in peak force and a 10 degrees shift in the position of peak force production to 90 degrees. The rightward shift in the muscle length-tension relation thus occurred during eccentric exercise, where greater force loss at short muscle lengths suggested an eccentric-induced over-stretching of sarcomeres.