Preobrazenski Nicholas, Seigel Joel, Janssen Ian, Halliday Sandra, McGlory Chris
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Clin Physiol Funct Imaging. 2025 Jan;45(1):e12912. doi: 10.1111/cpf.12912. Epub 2024 Nov 4.
Plantar flexors play a pivotal role in human locomotion and balance. Several original research studies and systematic reviews have characterised the impact of single-leg disuse on plantar flexor strength and size. However, no meta-analysis has quantified the effects of single-leg disuse on changes in plantar flexor strength and size in uninjured adults.
To quantify changes in plantar flexor strength and size in response to single-leg disuse.
Data were extracted from 19 studies captured in our previous systematic review on studies that employed a unilateral lower limb immobilisation model (cast or brace) and were published up to January 30, 2022. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed on original research studies reporting measures of plantar flexor strength (isometric, isokinetic, or repetition maximum) and size (magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography) in uninjured adults.
Single-leg disuse decreased plantar flexor strength (Hedges g = -0.71 [95% confidence interval: -0.93, -0.48], p < 0.001, 7-28 days, N = 16 studies, n = 121 participants including ≥13 females, ages 19-29) and plantar flexor size (-0.33 [-0.50, -0.15], p < 0.001, 14-35 days, N = 6, n = 49, 10 females, ages 22-27) across all durations of disuse.
Single-leg disuse decreases plantar flexor strength and size in uninjured adults. This work adds to recent meta-analytic findings demonstrating the declines in knee extensors strength and size following single-leg disuse. The paucity of female and participants >30 years old in the single-leg disuse literature examining plantar flexors represents a priority of future work.
跖屈肌在人类运动和平衡中起着关键作用。多项原创研究和系统评价已描述了单腿废用对跖屈肌力量和尺寸的影响。然而，尚无荟萃分析对单腿废用对未受伤成年人跖屈肌力量和尺寸变化的影响进行量化。
量化因单腿废用导致的跖屈肌力量和尺寸变化。
数据取自我们之前关于采用单侧下肢固定模型（石膏或支具）且截至2022年1月30日已发表的研究的系统评价中纳入的19项研究。对报告未受伤成年人跖屈肌力量（等长、等速或重复最大值）和尺寸（磁共振成像或计算机断层扫描）测量值的原创研究进行随机效应荟萃分析。
在所有废用时间段内，单腿废用均降低了跖屈肌力量（赫奇斯g值=-0.71 [95%置信区间：-0.93，-0.48]，p<0.001，7 - 28天，N = 16项研究，n = 121名参与者，包括≥13名女性，年龄19 - 29岁）和跖屈肌尺寸（-0.33 [-0.50，-0.15]，p<0.001，14 - 35天，N = 6，n = 49，10名女性，年龄22 - 27岁）。
单腿废用会降低未受伤成年人的跖屈肌力量和尺寸。这项工作补充了近期的荟萃分析结果，即单腿废用后膝关节伸肌力量和尺寸会下降。在研究跖屈肌的单腿废用文献中，女性和年龄>30岁的参与者较少，这是未来工作的重点。
