Directional Asymmetry of Crossover Neuromuscular Fatigue Following Unilateral Handgrip Exercise in Adults and Prepubertal Children

TL;DR

This study found that fatigue from exercising the dominant hand causes greater fatigue in the opposite hand than non-dominant hand exercise in both adults and children.

Contribution

The study reveals directional asymmetry in crossover neuromuscular fatigue and shows functional equivalence in children before peak height velocity.

Findings

Dominant-limb fatigue causes 2.5- to 3.5-fold greater contralateral performance decrements than non-dominant-limb fatigue.

Crossover fatigue effects extend to heterologous proximal muscles without magnitude differences.

Pre-peak-height-velocity children show equivalent crossover fatigue to adults, indicating mature interhemispheric transfer mechanisms.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: This study investigated whether crossover neuromuscular fatigue following unilateral handgrip exercise exhibits directional asymmetry, testing whether dominant-limb fatigue produces greater contralateral performance decrements than non-dominant-limb fatigue in adults and pre-peak-height-velocity children. Materials and Methods: Thirty-three healthy, right-handed males (16 adults: 22.5 ± 1.6 years; 17 pre-peak-height-velocity boys: 11.2 ± 0.8 years, maturity offset −2.2 ± 0.4 years) completed three counterbalanced experimental sessions (48–72 h apart): dominant-arm fatigue, non-dominant-arm fatigue, and control. The fatigue protocol consisted of 20 consecutive 6 s maximal voluntary isometric handgrip contractions. Primary outcomes were percentage changes in maximal voluntary isometric contraction of the contralateral limb across handgrip, elbow flexor, and elbow extensor muscle groups. Results: The experimental condition explained approximately 64% of crossover variance in adults (ηp2 = 0.650, ηG2 = 0.421) and children (ηp2 = 0.638, ηG2 = 0.448; both p < 0.001). Dominant-limb fatigue elicited substantially greater contralateral decrements than non-dominant-limb fatigue in adults (−11.00% vs. −3.92%, dz = −1.07) and children (−12.71% vs. −3.08%, dz = −1.33), representing 2.5- to 3.5-fold greater transfer efficiency (both p < 0.001). Age-group comparisons revealed no differences in crossover susceptibility (p = 0.627, ηp2 = 0.008), with equivalence testing confirming developmental invariance. Crossover effects extended to heterologous proximal muscles without magnitude differences (p > 0.13). Conclusions: Crossover fatigue (contralateral performance decrement following unilateral exercise) exhibited directional asymmetry, with dominant-limb protocols eliciting 2.5- to 3.5-fold greater contralateral decrements. This pattern aligns with asymmetric transcallosal inhibitory projections demonstrated in prior transcranial magnetic stimulation studies, though direct neurophysiological confirmation was not obtained. Functional equivalence between pre-peak-height-velocity children and adults indicates that interhemispheric transfer mechanisms achieve operational maturity before peak height velocity. Extension to heterologous muscles implicates supraspinal mechanisms. The findings establish normative parameters for clinical populations with compromised transcallosal integrity.

Figures