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Unintentional force drifts in the lower extremities

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Abstract

We explored the phenomenon of unintentional force drift seen in the absence of visual feedback during knee extension contractions in isometric conditions. Based on the importance of knee extensors for the anti-gravity function, we hypothesized that such force drifts would be slower and smaller compared to those reported for the upper extremities. We also explored possible effects of foot dominance and gender on the force drifts. Young healthy persons produced isometric knee extension contractions to different levels, ranging from 15 to 25% of maximal voluntary contraction force, with the help of visual feedback, and then, the visual feedback was turned off. Force change over the time interval without visual feedback was quantified. In the absence of visual feedback, force drifted to smaller magnitudes. The drift magnitude expressed in percent of the initial force magnitude was smaller for smaller initial force levels, ranging between 8 and 15% of the initial force for the initial force magnitude of 15% and 25% of maximal voluntary contraction force. The time exponent of the force drift was independent of the initial force magnitude and was, on average, 6.45 s. There were no significant effects of foot dominance or gender, although the male subjects tended to show stronger scaling of the drift magnitude with the initial force level compared to the female subjects. The results show that unintentional force drift is a common phenomenon across limbs and muscle groups. This conclusion fits the theory of control with spatial referent coordinates and the general tendency of all natural systems to drift to states with lower potential energy.

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Availability of data and materials

The original data are available from the corresponding author at a reasonable request. IR confirm the authenticity of all the raw data during this study.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jan Martin Jäe for his contribution during the testing of participants.

Funding

This study received no external funding support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Narva Mnt 25, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia

    Indrek Rannama

  2. Kinesiology Research Laboratory, Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Riga, Latvia

    Anna Zusa

  3. Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Mark L. Latash

Authors
  1. Indrek Rannama
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  2. Anna Zusa
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  3. Mark L. Latash
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Correspondence to Indrek Rannama.

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Communicated by Bill J Yates.

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Rannama, I., Zusa, A. & Latash, M.L. Unintentional force drifts in the lower extremities. Exp Brain Res 241, 1309–1318 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06608-7

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