Human Muscle Fatigue

When human muscle fatigues, athletic performance becomes impaired. For those individuals suffering muscle or metabolic diseases the effects of muscle fatigue can make everyday tasks difficult. Understanding the scientific processes responsible for skeletal muscle fatigue is therefore central to the study of the physiology of sport, exercise and health.

Written by a team of leading international exercise scientists, this book explores the mechanisms of muscle fatigue and presents a comprehensive survey of current research on this important topic. Examining the wide variety of protocols, assessment methods and exercise models used to study muscle fatigue, the book explores the differential effects of fatigue as influenced by:

• age

• gender

• fitness and training

• the use of ergogenic aids

• medical conditions including cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and glycogenosis.

Human Muscle Fatigue covers both clinical and applied approaches in sport and exercise physiology and devotes an entire section to the conceptual framework underpinning research in this area, helping readers from a wide range of backgrounds to engage with the topic. Accessible and detailed, this book is a key text for students and practitioners working in exercise and sports science, medicine, physical therapy and health.

Craig A. Williams is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre, School of Sport Health Sciences at the University of Exeter, UK. Craig’s research interests are within the area of children’s fatigue and high-intensity exercise. Sébastien Ratel is Senior Lecturer and member of the Laboratory of Exercise Biology at the University of Blaise Pascal. His current research interests include the use of ³¹P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the muscle metabolic responses of children during exercise, and muscle fatigue and recovery from high-intensity exercise in children.