A Protocol For Measuring The Effect Of Cycling On Neuromuscular Control Of Running In Triathletes

Abstract

PURPOSE The direct effects of cycling on neuromuscular control during running in triathletes are unknown. In this paper we outline and test a new protocol for investigating the influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running in highly-trained triathletes. METHODS We conducted three experiments investigating a) the repeatability (i.e. between-day reliability) of the protocol, specifically three-dimensional kinematic and electromyographic (EMG) measures of neuromuscular control, b) the ability of the protocol to investigate the direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running independent of fatigue in highly-trained triathletes (by evaluating indicators of fatigue from EMG and force data), and c) the ability of the protocol to provide a sufficient control, or baseline, measure of neuromuscular control during running in highly-trained triathletes. RESULTS Kinematic and electromyographic (EMG) measures of neuromuscular control during running showed moderate to high repeatability (mean coefficients-of-multiple-correlation (CMC) for repeatability of EMG and kinematics were 0.816 ± 0.014 and 0.911 ± 0.031, respectively). There was no evidence that the protocol resulted in neuromuscular fatigue in highly-trained triathletes. The protocol provided a sufficient control, or baseline, measure of neuromuscular control during running for highly-trained triathletes (CMC for stability was 0.827 ± 0.023. and 0.862 ± 0.054 for EMG and kinematics, respectively). CONCLUSION: This protocol provides repeatable measures of neuromuscular control during running and can be used to differentiate any direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running from the effects of a) fatigue, b) altered running speed, c) kinematic variations (the selection of an alternate, but not necessarily less efficient or less skilled, movement pattern), and d) continued running (changes in neuromuscular control that would occur during continued running irrespective of any prior cycling).