Strong verbal encouragement was provided throughout the protocol to ensure that a maximal effort was given. Following the eccentric

exercise protocol, 2 min of rest was provided prior to the POST exercise assessments. Figure 2 An example of participant positioning during a maximal voluntary isometric muscle action. Isometric strength Participants were placed on an upper body exercise testing bench as previously described (Figure 2). Following a warm-up of 5 submaximal muscle actions at 50% of maximal effort, the participants performed two 6-s maximal voluntary isometric muscle actions (MVICs) of the forearm flexors separated by 2 min of rest. The MVICs were performed with a neutral hand position. Selleck H 89 torque was recorded with a calibrated isokinetic dynamometer

(Cybex 6000, CYBEX Division, LUMEX Inc., Ronkonkoma, NY). Prior to the isometric muscle actions, the limb was weighed and gravity corrected using HUMAC software (HUMAC2009, CSMi, PLX3397 in vivo Stoughton, MA). During the isometric muscle actions, the joint angle between the arm and forearm was set at 115° (65° from full extension), and the angle between the arm and trunk was set at 45° (45° of abduction). In order to remove any free play from the dynamometer lever arm, the investigator placed a minimal baseline pressure on the lever arm prior to the initiation of the MVICs. Careful instruction Selleckchem NU7441 was given to each participant to ensure that they contracted as “hard and fast” as possible. The highest torque output (Nm) provided by the HUMAC software for the two MVICs was defined as the peak torque (PT) and was used for subsequent analyses. Hanging joint angle and relaxed arm circumference The hanging joint angle (°) between the forearm and arm was measured using a standard goniometer (Smith and Nephew Rolyan Inc., Menomomee Falls, WI) Forskolin solubility dmso [1, 16]. For each measurement, the axis of rotation of the elbow joint was aligned with

the axis of the goniometer. The proximal arm of the goniometer was aligned with the acromion process of the scapula and the distal arm was aligned with the styloid process of the ulna. Relaxed arm circumference (cm) was measured with a Gulick tape (Mabis Healthcare, Waukegan, IL) [16] at half the distance between the acromion process of the scapula and the olecranon process of the ulna. The maximum girth was determined with the arm horizontally abducted and the forearm extended. The hanging joint angle and relaxed arm circumference were always measured on the exercised arm prior to completing the MVIC, except during the POST assessments at visits 2 and 7 (Figure 1) when hanging joint angle and relaxed arm circumference were measured after the MVIC. Subjective pain rating An arm pain intensity scale adapted from McHugh and Tetro [17] was used to examine the subjective pain rating in the forearm flexors of the exercised arm as described by Beck et al. [13]. The scale ranged from 0 (no pain at all) to 10 (extremely intense pain).