ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2015
Children have a reduced maximal voluntary activation level of the adductor pollicis muscle compared to adults.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of inspiratory muscle training combined with circadian rhythm-based running programs in male children football players.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Difference in the Motor Unit Firing Behavior During Submaximal Isometric Ramp Contraction Between Healthy Children Aged 6-12 Years and Young Adults.Muscle & nerve · 2026Article
- Maximizing performance in child footballers: chronotype and time of day study.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Comparisons of muscle strength, size, and voluntary activation in pre- and post-pubescent males and females.European journal of applied physiology · 2021Article
- Eccentric Resistance Training in Youth: Perspectives for Long-Term Athletic Development.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2019Review
- Muscle strength, size, and neuromuscular function before and during adolescence.European journal of applied physiology · 2019Article
- Characteristics of motor unit recruitment in boys and men at maximal and submaximal force levels.Experimental brain research · 2019Article
- Exercise-induced fatigue in young people: advances and future perspectives.European journal of applied physiology · 2018Review
- Effect of muscle length on voluntary activation of the plantar flexors in boys and men.European journal of applied physiology · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe role of nervous factors in the muscle strength difference between children and adults is debated, and the level of physical activity may confound this comparison. The purpose of this study was thus to compare, between children and adults, the maximal voluntary activation level (MVA) of the adductor pollicis (AP) muscle, which is weakly influenced by the level of physical activity.
methodsThirteen boys (11.6 ± 0.1 years) and eight men (25.6 ± 1.5 years) were involved in this study. Neuromuscular function assessment included the evaluation of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force and of the MVA from peripheral magnetic stimulations of the ulnar nerve. The cross-sectional area of the AP muscle was determined with ultrasonography and used to calculate the specific force. A theoretical value of specific force, extrapolated for a full MVA, was finally computed (specific force@100 % MVA).
resultsMVC force (66.8 ± 6.2 vs. 111.0 ± 4.5 N, respectively; P < 0.001) and MVA (85.0 ± 2.7 vs. 94.8 ± 1.4 %, respectively; P < 0.05) were significantly lower in children compared to adults. The specific force was lower in children compared to adults (46.8 ± 3.6 vs. 56.9 ± 2.5 N/cm(2), respectively; P < 0.05), but the specific force@100 % MVA did not differ between groups.
conclusionThe results suggest that on an untrained muscle such as the AP muscle, the reduced ability of children to voluntarily activate their muscle could partly account for the difference of muscle strength between children and adults.
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