Quadriceps Architectural Adaptations in Team Sports Players: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

Resistance training is the most effective strategy to modify muscle architecture, enhancing sport performance and reducing injury risk. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of high loads (HL) versus lower loads (LL), maximal versus submaximal efforts, and high frequency (HF) versus low frequency (LF) on quadriceps architectural adaptations in team sports players. Five databases were searched. Vastus lateralis thickness, fascicle length and pennation angle, and rectus femoris thickness were analyzed as main outcomes. Overall, resistance training significantly improved muscle thickness and pennation angle, but not fascicle length. LL led to greater fascicle length adaptations in the vastus lateralis compared to HL (p=0.01), while no substantial differences were found for other load comparisons. Degree of effort and training frequency did not show meaningful differences (p>0.05). In conclusion, LL lengthen the fascicle to a greater extent than HL, and training with LL twice a week could maximize architectural adaptations, whereas the degree of effort does not appear to be a determinant variable on quadriceps architectural adaptations.

Keywords

muscle thickness - fascicle length - pennation angle - strength

Publication History

Received: 01 April 2024

Accepted: 18 July 2024

Accepted Manuscript online:
18 July 2024

Article published online:
08 October 2024

• References

• 1 Suchomel TJ, Nimphius S, Stone MH. The Importance of Muscular Strength in Athletic Performance. Sports Medicine 2016; 46: 1419-1449
• 2 Lauersen JB, Bertelsen DM, Andersen LB. The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Sports Med 2014; 48: 871-877
• 3 Sánchez-Medina L, González-Badillo JJ. Velocity Loss as an Indicator of Neuromuscular Fatigue during Resistance Training. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011; 43: 1725-1734
• 4 Spineti J, Figueiredo T, Bastos DE Oliveira V. et al. Comparison between traditional strength training and complex contrast training on repeated sprint ability and muscle architecture in elite soccer players. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2016; 56: 1269-1278
• 5 Ramirez-Campillo R, García-de-Alcaraz A, Chaabene H. et al. Effects of Plyometric Jump Training on Physical Fitness in Amateur and Professional Volleyball: A Meta-Analysis. Front Physiol 2021; 12
• 6 Muñoz-López A, de Souza Fonseca F, Ramírez-Campillo R. et al. The use of real-time monitoring during flywheel resistance training programmes: How can we measure eccentric overload? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Biol Sport 2021; 38: 639-652
• 7 Cormier P, Freitas TT, Rubio-Arias JÁ. et al. Complex and Contrast Training: Does Strength and Power Training Sequence Affect Performance-Based Adaptations in Team Sports? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res 2020; 34: 1461-1479
• 8 Pardos-Mainer E, Lozano D, Torrontegui-Duarte M. et al. Effects of Strength vs. Plyometric Training Programs on Vertical Jumping, Linear Sprint and Change of Direction Speed Performance in Female Soccer Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18: 401
• 9 Faude O, Koch T, Meyer T. Straight sprinting is the most frequent action in goal situations in professional football. J Sports Sci 2012; 30: 625-631
• 10 Joseph J, McIntyre F, Joyce C. et al. A comparison of multidimensional qualities discriminant of selection in elite adolescent Australian basketball athletes. PLoS One 2021; 16: e0256032
• 11 Mujika I, Santisteban J, Impellizzeri FM. et al. Fitness determinants of success in men’s and women’s football. J Sports Sci 2009; 27: 107-114
• 12 Dallinga JM, Benjaminse A, Lemmink KAPM. Which Screening Tools Can Predict Injury to the Lower Extremities in Team Sports?. Sports Medicine 2012; 42: 791-815
• 13 Brinlee AW, Dickenson SB, Hunter-Giordano A. et al. ACL Reconstruction Rehabilitation: Clinical Data, Biologic Healing, and Criterion-Based Milestones to Inform a Return-to-Sport Guideline. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 2022; 14: 770-779
• 14 Mendiguchia J, Alentorn-Geli E, Idoate F. et al. Rectus femoris muscle injuries in football: A clinically relevant review of mechanisms of injury, risk factors and preventive strategies. Br J Sports Med 2013; 47: 359-366
• 15 van der Worp H, van Ark M, Roerink S. et al. Risk factors for patellar tendinopathy: A systematic review of the literature. Br J Sports Med 2011; 45: 446-452
• 16 Huijing PA. Elastic potential of muscle. Strength and power in sport 1991; 151-168
• 17 Cross TM, Gibbs N, Houang MT. et al. Acute Quadriceps Muscle Strains. Am J Sports Med 2004; 32: 710-719
• 18 Orchard J, Seward H. Epidemiology of injuries in the Australian Football League, seasons 1997-2000. Br J Sports Med 2002; 36: 39-44
• 19 Zebis MK, Bencke J, Andersen LL. et al. The Effects of Neuromuscular Training on Knee Joint Motor Control During Sidecutting in Female Elite Soccer and Handball Players. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 2008; 18: 329-337
• 20 Zebis MK, Sørensen MH, Lauridsen HB. et al. Electromyography Evaluation of Bodyweight Exercise Progression in a Validated Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Rehabilitation Program. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2019; 98: 998-1004
• 21 Dos’Santos T, Thomas C, Comfort P. et al. Biomechanical Effects of a 6-Week Change-of-Direction Technique Modification Intervention on Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk. J Strength Cond Res 2021; 35: 2133-2144
• 22 Suchomel TJ, Nimphius S, Bellon CR. et al. The Importance of Muscular Strength: Training Considerations. Sports Medicine 2018; 48: 765-785
• 23 Lieber RL, Ward SR. Skeletal muscle design to meet functional demands. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2011; 366: 1466-1476
• 24 Fitts RH, McDonald KS, Schluter JM. The determinants of skeletal muscle force and power: Their adaptability with changes in activity pattern. J Biomech 1991; 24: 111-122
• 25 Fukunaga T, Kawakami Y, Kuno S. et al. Muscle architecture and function in humans. J Biomech 1997; 30: 457-463
• 26 Freitas SR, Mendes B, Le Sant G. et al. Can chronic stretching change the muscle-tendon mechanical properties? A review. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2018; 28: 794-806
• 27 Windt J, Gabbett TJ. How do training and competition workloads relate to injury? The workload—injury aetiology model. Br J Sports Med 2017; 51: 428-435
• 28 Windt J, Zumbo BD, Sporer B. et al. Why do workload spikes cause injuries, and which athletes are at higher risk? Mediators and moderators in workload-injury investigations. Br J Sports Med 2017; 51: 993-994
• 29 Hasenoehrl T, Wessner B, Tschan H. et al. Eccentric resistance training intensity may affect the severity of exercise induced muscle damage. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2017; 57: 1195-1204
• 30 Cormier P, Freitas TT, Seaman K. A systematic review of resistance training methodologies for the development of lower body concentric mean power, peak power, and mean propulsive power in team-sport athletes. Sports Biomech 2021; 4: 1-34
• 31 Harper DJ, Sandford GN, Clubb J. et al. Elite football of 2030 will not be the same as that of 2020: What has evolved and what needs to evolve?. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2021; 31: 493-494
• 32 Nassis GP, Massey A, Jacobsen P. et al. Elite football of 2030 will not be the same as that of 2020: Preparing players, coaches, and support staff for the evolution. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2020; 30: 962-964
• 33 Calleja-González J, Terrados N, Mielgo-Ayuso J. et al. Evidence-based post-exercise recovery strategies in basketball. Phys Sportsmed 2016; 44: 74-78
• 34 Calleja-González J, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Sampaio J. et al. Brief ideas about evidence-based recovery in team sports. J Exerc Rehabil 2018; 14: 545-550
• 35 Coratella G. Appropriate Reporting of Exercise Variables in Resistance Training Protocols: Much more than Load and Number of Repetitions. Sports Med Open 2022; 8: 99
• 36 Torres-Ronda L, Beanland E, Whitehead S. et al. Tracking Systems in Team Sports: A Narrative Review of Applications of the Data and Sport Specific Analysis. Sports Med Open 2022; 8: 15
• 37 Pol R, Balagué N, Ric A. et al. Training or Synergizing? Complex Systems Principles Change the Understanding of Sport Processes. Sports Med Open 2020; 6: 28
• 38 Alonso-Fernandez D, Fernandez-Rodriguez R, Abalo-Núñez R. Changes in rectus femoris architecture induced by the reverse nordic hamstring exercises. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2019; 59: 640-647
• 39 Horwath O, Paulsen G, Esping T. et al. Isokinetic resistance training combined with eccentric overload improves athletic performance and induces muscle hypertrophy in young ice hockey players. J Sci Med Sport 2019; 22: 821-826
• 40 Ullrich B, Pelzer T, Pfeiffer M. Neuromuscular Effects to 6 Weeks of Loaded Countermovement Jumping With Traditional and Daily Undulating Periodization. J Strength Cond Res 2018; 32: 660-674
• 41 Blazevich AJ, Cannavan D, Coleman DR. et al. Influence of concentric and eccentric resistance training on architectural adaptation in human quadriceps muscles. J Appl Physiol 2007; 103: 1565-1575
• 42 Timmins RG, Bourne MN, Shield AJ. et al. Short biceps femoris fascicles and eccentric knee flexor weakness increase the risk of hamstring injury in elite football (soccer): A prospective cohort study. Br J Sports Med 2016; 50: 1524-1535
• 43 Timmins RG, Shield AJ, Williams MD. et al. Biceps Femoris Long Head Architecture. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2015; 47: 905-913
• 44 Pincheira PA, Boswell MA, Franchi MV.. et al. Biceps femoris long head sarcomere and fascicle length adaptations after 3 weeks of eccentric exercise training. J Sport Health Sci 2022; 11: 43-49
• 45 Gérard R, Gojon L, Decleve P. et al. The Effects of Eccentric Training on Biceps Femoris Architecture and Strength: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. J Athl Train 2020; 55: 501-514
• 46 Coratella G, Beato M, Milanese C. et al. Specific Adaptations in Performance and Muscle Architecture After Weighted Jump-Squat vs. Body Mass Squat Jump Training in Recreational Soccer Players. J Strength Cond Res 2018; 32: 921-929
• 47 Franchi MV, Atherton PJ, Reeves ND. et al. Architectural, functional and molecular responses to concentric and eccentric loading in human skeletal muscle. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2014; 210: 642-654
• 48 Lieber RL. Can we just forget about pennation angle?. J Biomech 2022; 132: 110954
• 49 Folland JP, Williams AG. The Adaptations to Strength Training. Sports Medicine 2007; 37: 145-168
• 50 Blazevich AJ, Gill ND, Bronks R. et al. Training-Specific Muscle Architecture Adaptation after 5-wk Training in Athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003; 35: 2013-2022
• 51 Douglas J, Pearson S, Ross A. et al. Effects of Accentuated Eccentric Loading on Muscle Properties, Strength, Power, and Speed in Resistance-Trained Rugby Players. J Strength Cond Res 2018; 32: 2750-2761
• 52 Gavanda S, Geisler S, Quittmann OJ. et al. The Effect of Block Versus Daily Undulating Periodization on Strength and Performance in Adolescent Football Players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2019; 14: 814-821
• 53 Vázquez-Guerrero J, Moras G. Cambios en la arquitectura muscular y en la velocidad de ejecución de sentadillas en VersaPulley en condiciones estables e inestables en jugadores junior de baloncesto de élite durante una temporada. Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte 2015; 15: 243-252
• 54 Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM. et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. International Journal of Surgery 2021; 88: 105906
• 55 Page MJ, Moher D, Bossuyt PM. et al. PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: Updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021; n160
• 56 Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J. et al. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions 2019; 9: 1-694
• 57 Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2^nd edition Routledge; 2013
• 58 Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J. et al. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. John Wiley & Sons; 2019
• 59 Grant J, Hunter A. Measuring inconsistency in knowledgebases. J Intell Inf Syst 2006; 27: 159-184
• 60 Baechle TR, Earle RW. Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Human kinetics. 2008
• 61 de Morton NA. The PEDro scale is a valid measure of the methodological quality of clinical trials: A demographic study. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 2009; 55: 129-133
• 62 Ribeiro de Ávila V, Bento T, Gomes W. et al. Functional Outcomes and Quality of Life After Ankle Fracture Surgically Treated: A Systematic Review. J Sport Rehabil 2018; 27: 274-283
• 63 Gavanda S, Geisler S, Quitmann OJ. et al. Three Weeks of Detraining Does Not Decrease Muscle Thickness, Strength or Sport Performance in Adolescent Athletes. Int J Exerc Sci 2020; 13: 633-644
• 64 Enright K, Morton J, Iga J. et al. The effect of concurrent training organisation in youth elite soccer players. Eur J Appl Physiol 2015; 115: 2367-2381
• 65 Namboonlue C, Hamlin MJ, Sirasaporn P. et al. Optimal degree of hypoxia combined with low-load resistance training for muscle strength and thickness in athletes. Journal of Physical Education and Sport 2020; 20: 828-838
• 66 Scott BR, Peiffer JJ, Goods PSR. The Effects of Supplementary Low-Load Blood Flow Restriction Training on Morphological and Performance-Based Adaptations in Team Sport Athletes. J Strength Cond Res 2017; 31: 2147-2154
• 67 Mitchell CJ, Churchward-Venne TA, West DWD. et al. Resistance exercise load does not determine training-mediated hypertrophic gains in young men. J Appl Physiol 2012; 113: 71-77
• 68 Burd NA, West DWD, Staples AW. et al. Low-Load High Volume Resistance Exercise Stimulates Muscle Protein Synthesis More Than High-Load Low Volume Resistance Exercise in Young Men. PLoS One 2010; 5: e12033
• 69 Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine 2016; 46: 1689-1697
• 70 Iversen VM, Norum M, Schoenfeld BJ. et al. No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review. Sports Medicine 2021; 51: 2079-2095
• 71 Vieira AF, Umpierre D, Teodoro JL. et al. Effects of Resistance Training Performed to Failure or Not to Failure on Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Power Output: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. J Strength Cond Res 2021; 35: 1165-1175
• 72 Bazyler CD, Mizuguchi S, Sole CJ. et al. Jumping Performance is Preserved but Not Muscle Thickness in Collegiate Volleyball Players After a Taper. J Strength Cond Res 2018; 32: 1020-1028
• 73 Santanielo N, Nóbrega S, Scarpelli M. et al. Effect of resistance training to muscle failure vs non-failure on strength, hypertrophy and muscle architecture in trained individuals. Biol Sport 2020; 37: 333-341
• 74 Marušič J, Vatovec R, Marković G. et al. Effects of eccentric training at long-muscle length on architectural and functional characteristics of the hamstrings. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2020; 30: 2130-2142
• 75 Párraga-Montilla JA, García-Ramos A, Castaño-Zambudio A. et al. Acute and Delayed Effects of a Resistance Training Session Leading to Muscular Failure on Mechanical, Metabolic, and Perceptual Responses. J Strength Cond Res 2020; 34: 2220-2226
• 76 Undheim MB, Cosgrave C, King E. et al. Isokinetic muscle strength and readiness to return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: Is there an association? A systematic review and a protocol recommendation. Br J Sports Med 2015; 49: 1305-1310
• 77 Pieters D, Witvrouw E, Wezenbeek E. et al. Value of isokinetic strength testing for hamstring injury risk assessment: Should the ‘strongest’ mates stay ashore?. Eur J Sport Sci 2022; 22: 257-268
• 78 Suarez-Arrones L, Nakamura FY, Maldonado RA. et al. Applying a holistic hamstring injury prevention approach in elite football: 12 seasons, single club study. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2021; 31: 861-874
• 79 Afonso J, Nakamura FY, Baptista I. et al. Microdosing: Old Wine in a New Bottle? Current State of Affairs and Future Avenues. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2022; 17: 1649-1652
• 80 Routledge HE, Graham S, Di Michele R. et al. Training Load and Carbohydrate Periodization Practices of Elite Male Australian Football Players: Evidence of Fueling for the Work Required. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2020; 30: 280-286
• 81 Eggers T, Cross R, Norris D. et al. Impact of Microcycle Structures on Physical and Technical Outcomes During Professional Rugby League Training and Matches. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2022; 17: 755-760
• 82 Lovell R, Whalan M, Marshall PWM. et al. Scheduling of eccentric lower limb injury prevention exercises during the soccer micro-cycle: Which day of the week?. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2018; 28: 2216-2225
• 83 Sigward SM, Powers CM. The influence of gender on knee kinematics, kinetics and muscle activation patterns during side-step cutting. Clinical Biomechanics 2006; 21: 41-48
• 84 Blackburn JT, Bell DR, Norcross MF. et al. Sex comparison of hamstring structural and material properties. Clinical Biomechanics 2009; 24: 65-70