Effects Of Cycling Training Research Articles

Effect of Acute Physical Interventions on Pathophysiology and Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature.

Physical rehabilitation is essential for enhancing recovery in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, aside from early surgical intervention and hemodynamic management, there are no proven interventions for promoting recovery in the acute phase. In general, early rehabilitation is considered beneficial, but optimal parameters and potential contraindications for implementing rehabilitation at very early time points are unclear. Moreover, clinical trials to date are limited to studies initiating rehabilitation 2 weeks after injury and later. To address these gaps, this article reviews the preclinical literature on physical interventions initiated within the first 8 days postinjury. Effects of early rehabilitation on molecular and structural nervous system changes, behavioral function, and body systems are considered. Most studies utilized treadmill or cycle training as the primary intervention. Treadmill training initiated within the first 3 days and terminated by 1 week after injury worsened autonomic function, inflammation, and locomotor outcomes, while swim training during this period increased microvascular dysfunction. In contrast, lower-intensity rehabilitation such as reach training, ladder training, or voluntary wheel or ball training showed benefits when implemented during the first 3 days. Rehabilitation initiated at 4 days postinjury was also associated with enhanced motor recovery. Cycling appears to have the greatest risk-benefit ratio; however, the effects of cycle training in the first 3 days were not investigated. Overall, research suggests that lower intensity or voluntary rehabilitation during the hyperacute phase is more appropriate until at least 4 days postinjury, at which point higher-intensity activity becomes safer and more beneficial for recovery.

Effects of Endurance Cycling on Mechanomyographic Median Power Frequency of the Vastus Lateralis

This study examined the effects of cycling training on mechanomyographic median power frequency (MMGMDF)–torque relationships of the vastus lateralis (VL). Ten males (Age ± SD; 20.20 ± 1.87 years) and 14 females (21.93 ± 5.33 years) performed isometric trapezoidal muscle actions with the knee extensors at 40% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) before (PRE) and following 10 weeks of cycling training at the same absolute submaximal torque as pre-training (POSTABS). MMGMDF–torque relationships (increasing and decreasing segment) were log-transformed and b terms (slopes) were calculated. MMGMDF was averaged during steady torque. For POSTABS, the b terms for the females (0.133 ± 0.190) were greater than for the males (−0.083 ± 0.200; p = 0.013) and compared to PRE (0.008 ± 0.161; p = 0.036). At PRE, the b terms for the linearly increasing-muscle action (0.123 ± 0.192) were greater compared to the linearly decreasing-muscle action (−0.061 ± 0.188; p < 0.001), whereas no differences existed between muscle actions for POSTABS (p > 0.05). In conclusion, 10 weeks of cycling training resulted in different motor unit (MU) control strategies between sexes and altered MU control strategies between muscle actions for the VL during a moderate-intensity contraction.

Effects of Cycling Training at Imposed Low Cadences: A Systematic Review.

The present article reviews effects of training at low imposed cadences in cycling. The authors performed a systematic literature search of MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus up to April 2016 to identify potentially relevant articles. Based on the titles and abstracts of the identified articles, a subset of articles was selected for evaluation. These articles constituted original-research articles on adaptation to training at different imposed cadences in cycling. Seven articles were selected for evaluation. With regard to the terminology in the present article, low cadences are those below the freely chosen cadence. The rate of 80 rpm can, eg, be considered a low cadence if effort is maximal. On the other hand, the cadence has to be lower than 80 rpm (eg, 40-70 rpm) to be considered low if cycling is performed at low power output. The reason is that the choice of cadence depends on power output. In conclusion, there is presently no strong evidence for a benefit of training at low cadences. It can tentatively be recommended to consider including training bouts of cycling at low cadence at moderate to maximal intensity. The reason for the restrained recommendation is that some of the selected studies indicate no clear performance-enhancing effect of training at low cadence or even indicate a superior effect from training at freely chosen cadence. Furthermore, the selected studies are considerably dissimilar with respect to, eg, participant characteristics and to the applied training regimens.

Stationary cycle training for improving lower limb muscle tension and motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy

Objective To observe the effects of stationary cycle training on lower limb muscle tension and motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Methods Sixty-seven children with spastic cerebral palsy were divided into a treatment group (n=34) and a control group (n=33). Both were treated with routine rehabilitation therapy, including neurodevelopment treatment, massage and physical agent therapy. The treatment group additionally cycled on a stationary bicycle for 20 min a day, five days a week for 3 months. Muscle tension in the children's adductor, hamstring and gastrocnemius muscles was evaluated using the modified Ashworth scale (MAS), while the adductor angle, popliteal fossa angle and foot dorsiflexion angle were measured using a joint protractor. Moreover, the 88-item version of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88) was used to evaluate gross motor function. Results After treatment the average muscle tension of both groups was significantly lower than before treatment. The average muscle tension scores of the adductors, hamstrings and calf muscles of the treatment group [(1.79±0.54), (1.00±0.60), (2.29±1.77)] were significantly lower than those of the controls [(1.82±0.53), (1.15±0.44), (2.52±1.89)]. The adductor angles, popliteal fossa angles and foot dorsiflexion angles of both groups were significantly larger than before treatment, and the angles in the treatment group [(97.06±19.03)°, (53.38±12.54)° and (8.38±9.11 )° respectively] were significantly larger on average than those in the control [(98.94±21.42)°, (56.52±12.90 )° and ( 5.30±14.30)° respectively]. After treatment the total GMFM scores of both groups were better than before treatment, but the treatment group's average score(138.18±54.86) was significantly better than that of the control group(112.21±62.44). Conclusion Three months of stationary cycle training can effectively reduce the muscle tension of children with spastic cerebral palsy and improve their motor function. Key words: Cerebral palsy, spastic; Muscle tension; Joint motion range; Exercise therapy; Motor function; Stationary cycle training

Effect of Cycling Training with Foot External Rotation on Neuromuscular Function of Vastus Medialis Oblique and Vastus Lateralis

Cycling exercise is one of the neuromuscular training for knee joints. Recent study showed that cycling exercise with foot external rotation (ER) could induce more preferential vastus medialis oblique (VMO) activation than neutral position. Besides, it is known that neuromuscular function of the knee could be increased by the continuous training. However, the long-term training effect is still under-investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of continuous cycling training with foot ER on neuromuscular functions. Thirty male young subjects were randomly divided into neutral, ER 45° and control groups. All subjects trained three times a week for 8 weeks, each session lasted for 20 mins on cycle ergometer. The foot position in the control group was determined by subjects. Electromyography (EMG) onset time and activities of VMO and vastus lateralis (VL) were collected during ascending and descending of a stair-stepping task that was performed before and after the training. During ascending, results showed that ER 45° group had significantly smaller VMO relative VL onset time difference after training. During descending, ER 45° group had significantly smaller VMO relative VL onset time difference than neutral and control groups at post-test. ER 45° group had significantly smaller VMO relative VL onset time difference and VMO onset time. Neutral group had significantly smaller VMO relative VL onset time difference after training during descending. These results suggest that reflex response times of vastus medialis oblique of healthy male subjects could be improved after 8-week cycling training with foot ER, but VMO:VL ratio did not change significantly after training.

Effect of Cycling Training on Activation of Vastus Lateralis and Vastus Medialis Oblique Muscle

The neuromuscular training of vastus medialis oblique (VMO) and vastus lateralis (VL) is a common strategy for preventing patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). The neuromuscular activities of VMO and VL can induce by acute cycling exercise in the higher seat position. However, it is not known whether cycling training could improve the VMO to VL ratio for healthy people. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of neuromuscular function after cycling training. Eighteen healthy male subjects (aged: 20.7 ± 0.7 yrs) were randomly allocated into either training or control groups. Subjects in training group trained three times a week for 8 weeks. Each session lasted for 20 min on cycling. Subjects in control group did not participate in any exercise training. Electromyographic (EMG) onset time and activities of VMO and VL were collected during a stair-stepping task that was performed before and after training. Results showed that subjects in training group had significant earlier VMO and VL EMG onset time during the ascend stepping of post-test, but no significant difference in descend stepping. No significant changes in all parameters were found in control group. Furthermore, all parameters were not significantly different between two groups. Our results showed that VMO and VL activation time for healthy male subjects could be improved after 8-week cycling training, but the VMO to VL ratio, which represents motor control did not change significantly compared to control. Thus, the cycling training in our study is insufficient to enhance neuromuscular function in VMO and VL.

Effects of Cycling Training on Resting JNK MAPK Activation in Previously Untrained Young Men and Women

Effects of Cycling Training on Resting JNK MAPK Activation in Previously Untrained Young Men and Women