Quadriceps strengthening with the DAPRE technique: case studies with neurological implications.

The Daily Adjustable Progressive Resistive Exercise (DAPRE) technique was developed clinically in an effort to provide an objective means of increasing resistance concurrently with strength increases during knee rehabilitation subsequent to injury/surgery. The key to the DAPRE technique is that on the third and fourth sets of exercise the patient performs as many repetitions as possible. The number of repetitions performed during the third and fourth sets is used to determine the amount of weight that is added to (or sometimes removed from) the working weight for the next set and session, respectively. Consequently, patients exercise nearer their optimal capacity during each weight rehabilitation session, and their strength redevelopment occurs at a much faster rate. This report describes the quariceps muscle strength gains by 21 athletes who used the DAPRE technique following knee immobilization for a minimum of 3 wk. These patients averaged an increase of 4.3 +/- 2.2 (SD) kg X d-1 for a period of 6.4 +/- 2.2 d, as measured by a six repetitions maximum test. It seems unlikely that morphological changes were responsible for these strength increases. It is postulated that strength redevelopment following immobilization involves changes in neural pathways and/or overcoming possible neural inhibitors.