Susanna Rampichini

Bio: Susanna Rampichini is an academic researcher from University of Milan. The author has contributed to research in topics: Passive stretching & Static stretching. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 80 publications receiving 1335 citations.

Muscle oxygenation and pulmonary gas exchange kinetics during cycling exercise on-transitions in humans

Abstract: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was utilized to gain insights into the kinetics of oxidative metabolism during exercise transitions. Ten untrained young men were tested on a cycle ergometer durin...

Effects of temperature and fatigue on the electromechanical delay components.

Abstract: Introduction: Neuromuscular activation can be influenced by both muscle temperature (Tm) and fatigue. Methods: To assess the effects of Tm and fatigue on the electromechanical delay (EMD), 15 participants performed voluntary isometric contractions of different intensities under neutral (TmN), low (TmL), and high (TmH) Tm, before and after a fatiguing exercise. During contraction, electromyogram (EMG), mechanomyogram (MMG), and force (F) were recorded from the biceps brachii muscle. The EMD and the latencies between EMG and MMG (Δt EMG-MMG, which includes the electrochemical processes of EMD) and between MMG and F (Δt MMG-F, which includes the mechanical processes of EMD) were calculated. Results: TmL increased only Δt EMG-MMG, both before and after fatigue. Fatigue lengthened EMD, Δt EMG-MMG, and Δt MMG-F under all Tm to a similar extent. Conclusions: While fatigue increased all EMD components, muscle cooling affected only the electrochemical but not the mechanical processes of EMD. Muscle Nerve, 2013

Complexity Analysis of Surface Electromyography for Assessing the Myoelectric Manifestation of Muscle Fatigue: A Review

Abstract: The surface electromyography (sEMG) records the electrical activity of muscle fibers during contraction: one of its uses is to assess changes taking place within muscles in the course of a fatiguing contraction to provide insights into our understanding of muscle fatigue in training protocols and rehabilitation medicine. Until recently, these myoelectric manifestations of muscle fatigue (MMF) have been assessed essentially by linear sEMG analyses. However, sEMG shows a complex behavior, due to many concurrent factors. Therefore, in the last years, complexity-based methods have been tentatively applied to the sEMG signal to better individuate the MMF onset during sustained contractions. In this review, after describing concisely the traditional linear methods employed to assess MMF we present the complexity methods used for sEMG analysis based on an extensive literature search. We show that some of these indices, like those derived from recurrence plots, from entropy or fractal analysis, can detect MMF efficiently. However, we also show that more work remains to be done to compare the complexity indices in terms of reliability and sensibility; to optimize the choice of embedding dimension, time delay and threshold distance in reconstructing the phase space; and to elucidate the relationship between complexity estimators and the physiologic phenomena underlying the onset of MMF in exercising muscles.

Specific Adaptations in Performance and Muscle Architecture After Weighted Jump-Squat vs. Body Mass Squat Jump Training in Recreational Soccer Players.

Abstract: Coratella, G, Beato, M, Milanese, C, Longo, S, Limonta, E, Rampichini, S, Ce, E, Bisconti, AV, Schena, F, and Esposito, F. Specific adaptations in performance and muscle architecture after weighted jump-squat vs. body mass squat jump training in recreational soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 32(4): 921-929, 2018-The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of weighted jump-squat training (WJST) vs. body mass squat jump training (BMSJT) on quadriceps' muscle architecture, lower-limb lean-mass (LM) and muscle strength, performance in change of direction (COD), and sprint and jump in recreational soccer players. Forty-eight healthy soccer players participated in an offseason randomized controlled trial. Before and after an 8-week training intervention, vastus lateralis pennation angle, fascicle length, muscle thickness, LM, squat 1RM, quadriceps and hamstrings isokinetic peak torque, agility T-test, 10-and 30-m sprints, and squat-jump (SJ) were measured. Although similar increases were observed in muscle thickness, fascicle length increased more in WJST (Effect size [ES] = 1.18, 0.82-1.54) than in BMSJT (ES = 0.54, 0.40-0.68), and pennation angle increased only in BMSJT (ES = 1.03, 0.78-1.29). Greater increases in LM were observed in WJST (ES = 0.44, 0.29-0.59) than in BMSJT (ES = 0.21, 0.07-0.37). The agility T-test (ES = 2.95, 2.72-3.18), 10-m (ES = 0.52, 0.22-0.82), and 30-m sprints (ES = 0.52, 0.23-0.81) improved only in WJST, whereas SJ improved in BMSJT (ES = 0.89, 0.43-1.35) more than in WJST (ES = 0.30, 0.03-0.58). Similar increases in squat 1RM and peak torque occurred in both groups. The greater inertia accumulated within the landing phase in WJST vs. BMSJT has increased the eccentric workload, leading to specific eccentric-like adaptations in muscle architecture. The selective improvements in COD in WJST may be related to the increased braking ability generated by the enhanced eccentric workload.

Novel insights into skeletal muscle function by mechanomyography: from the laboratory to the field

Abstract: Purpose The review aimed to provide a wider overview on the new application fields of MMG signal. A particular emphasis on measurements reliability and sensitivity was also given.

Short sleep duration and weight gain : a systematic review

Abstract: Objective: The recent obesity epidemic has been accompanied by a parallel growth in chronic sleep deprivation. Physiologic studies suggest sleep deprivation may influence weight through effects on appetite, physical activity, and/or thermoregulation. This work reviews the literature regarding short sleep duration as an independent risk factor for obesity and weight gain.

Childhood Adiposity, Adult Adiposity, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors EDITORIAL COMMENT

Abstract: BACKGROUND Obesity in childhood is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. It is uncertain whether this risk is attenuated in persons who are overweight or obese as children but not obese as adults. METHODS We analyzed data from four prospective cohort studies that measured childhood and adult body-mass index (BMI, the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters). The mean length of follow-up was 23 years. To define high adiposity status, international age-specific and sex-specific BMI cutoff points for overweight and obesity were used for children, and a BMI cutoff point of 30 was used for adults. RESULTS Data were available for 6328 subjects. Subjects with consistently high adiposity status from childhood to adulthood, as compared with persons who had a normal BMI as children and were nonobese as adults, had an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (relative risk, 5.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.4 to 8.5), hypertension (relative risk, 2.7; 95% CI, 2.2 to 3.3), elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (relative risk, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4 to 2.3), reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (relative risk, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.8 to 2.5), elevated triglyceride levels (relative risk, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.4 to 3.8), and carotid-artery atherosclerosis (increased intima-media thickness of the carotid artery) (relative risk, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4 to 2.2) (P ≤ 0.002 for all comparisons). Persons who were overweight or obese during childhood but were nonobese as adults had risks of the outcomes that were similar to those of persons who had a normal BMI consistently from childhood to adulthood (P>0.20 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS Overweight or obese children who were obese as adults had increased risks of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and carotid-artery atherosclerosis. The risks of these outcomes among overweight or obese children who became nonobese by adulthood were similar to those among persons who were never obese. (Funded by the Academy of Finland and others.).

Principles, techniques, and limitations of near infrared spectroscopy.

Abstract: In the last decade the study of the human brain and muscle energetics underwent a radical change, thanks to the progressive introduction of noninvasive techniques, including near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy (NIRS). This review summarizes the most recent literature about the principles, techniques, advantages, limitations, and applications of NIRS in exercise physiology and neuroscience. The main NIRS instrumentations and measurable parameters will be reported. NIR light (700-1000 m) penetrates superficial layers (skin, subcutaneous fat, skull, etc.) and is either absorbed by chromophores (oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin and myoglobin) or scattered within the tissue. NIRS is a noninvasive and relatively low-cost optical technique that is becoming a widely used instrument for measuring tissue O2 saturation, changes in hemoglobin volume and, indirectly, brain/muscle blood flow and muscle O2 consumption. Tissue O2 saturation represents a dynamic balance between O2 supply and O2 consumption in the small vessels such as the capillary, arteriolar, and venular bed. The possibility of measuring the cortical activation in response to different stimuli, and the changes in the cortical cytochrome oxidase redox state upon O2 delivery changes, will also be mentioned.

Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans

Abstract: Pharmacological sodium nitrate supplementation has been reported to reduce the O2 cost of submaximal exercise in humans. In this study, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation with inorganic n...