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J Appl Physiol (February 14, 2003). doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00894.2002
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Submitted on September 27, 2002
Accepted on February 5, 2003

Facilitation of triceps brachii muscle contraction by tendon vibration after chronic cervical spinal cord injury

Edith Ribot-Ciscar1*, Jane E Butler2, and Christine K Thomas3

1 CNRS UMR 6149, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Humaine, Neurobiologie Integrative et Adaptative, Marseille, France
2 Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia
3 The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rc{at}up.univ-mrs.fr.

One way to improve the weak triceps brachii voluntary forces of people with chronic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) may be to excite the paralyzed or submaximally activated fraction of muscle. Here we examined whether elbow extensor force was enhanced by vibration (80 Hz) of the triceps or biceps brachii tendons at rest and during maximum isometric voluntary contractions (MVCs) of the elbow extensors performed by SCI subjects. The mean±SE elbow extensor MVC force was 22±17.5 N (range: 0-23 % control force, n=11 muscles). Supramaximal radial nerve stimuli delivered during elbow extensor MVCs evoked force in 6 muscles that could be stimulated selectively, suggesting potential for force improvement. Biceps vibration at rest always evoked a tonic vibration reflex (TVR) in biceps but extension force did not improve with biceps vibration during triceps MVCs. Triceps vibration induced a TVR at rest in half the triceps muscles tested. Elbow extensor MVC force (when >1 % control force) was enhanced by vibration of the triceps tendon in half the muscles. Thus triceps, but not biceps brachii tendon vibration, increases the contraction strength of some partially paralyzed triceps brachii muscles.




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