Motor imagery during action observation increases eccentric hamstring force : an acute non-physical intervention

Scott, Matthew and Taylor, Stephen and Chesterton, Paul and Vogt, Stefan Reinhold and Eaves, Daniel (2018) Motor imagery during action observation increases eccentric hamstring force : an acute non-physical intervention. Disability and Rehabilitation, 40 (12). pp. 1443-1451. ISSN 0963-8288

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Abstract

Purpose: Rehabilitation professionals typically use motor imagery (MI) or action observation (AO) to increase physical strength for injury prevention and recovery. Here we compared hamstring force gains for MI during AO (AO + MI) against two pure MI training groups. Materials and methods: Over a 3-week intervention physically fit adults imagined Nordic hamstring exercises in both legs and synchronized this with a demonstration of the same action (AO + MI), or they purely imagined this action (pure MI), or imagined upper-limb actions (pure MI-control). Eccentric hamstring strength gains were assessed using ANOVAs, and magnitude-based inference (MBI) analyses determined the likelihood of clinical/practical benefits for the interventions. Results: Hamstring strength only increased significantly following AO + MI training. This effect was lateralized to the right leg, potentially reflecting a left-hemispheric dominance in motor simulation. MBIs: The right leg within-group treatment effect size for AO + MI was moderate and likely beneficial (d = 0.36), and only small and possibly beneficial for pure MI (0.23). Relative to pure MI-control, effects were possibly beneficial and moderate for AO + MI (0.72), although small for pure MI (0.39). Conclusions: Since hamstring strength predicts injury prevalence, our findings point to the advantage of combined AO + MI interventions, over and above pure MI, for injury prevention and rehabilitation. Implications for rehabilitation While hamstring strains are the most common injury across the many sports involving sprinting and jumping, Nordic hamstring exercises are among the most effective methods for building eccentric hamstring strength, for injury prevention and rehabilitation. In the acute injury phase it is crucial not to overload damaged soft tissues, and so non-physical rehabilitation techniques are well suited to this phase. Rehabilitation professionals typically use either motor imagery or action observation techniques to safely improve physical strength, but our study shows that motor imagery during observation of Nordic hamstring exercises offers a safe, affordable and more effective way to facilitate eccentric hamstring strength gains, compared with pure motor imagery. Despite using bilateral imagery and observation training conditions in the present study, strength gains were restricted to the right leg, potentially due to a left hemispheric dominance in motor simulation.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Disability and Rehabilitation
Additional Information:
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Disability and Rehabilitation on 21/03/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09638288.2017.1300333
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2742
Subjects:
?? action simulationobservational learningmental practicemotor rehabilitationnordic hamstring eccentric exerciseshamstring strain injuryrehabilitation ??
ID Code:
84841
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
23 Feb 2017 14:30
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
24 Mar 2024 00:49