Cited by 948Sports Performance and TrainingCardiovascular and exercise physiologyMuscle activation and electromyography studies

Translating Fatigue to Human Performance

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ENOKA, ROGER M., DUCHATEAU, JACQUES·2016·Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

Abstract

Despite flourishing interest in the topic of fatigue-as indicated by the many presentations on fatigue at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine-surprisingly little is known about its effect on human performance. There are two main reasons for this dilemma: 1) the inability of current terminology to accommodate the scope of the conditions ascribed to fatigue, and 2) a paucity of validated experimental models. In contrast to current practice, a case is made for a unified definition of fatigue to facilitate its management in health and disease. On the basis of the classic two-domain concept of Mosso, fatigue is defined as a disabling symptom in which physical and cognitive function is limited by interactions between performance fatigability and perceived fatigability. As a symptom, fatigue can only be measured by self-report, quantified as either a trait characteristic or a state variable. One consequence of such a definition is that the word fatigue should not be preceded by an adjective (e.g., central, mental, muscle, peripheral, and supraspinal) to suggest the locus of the changes responsible for an observed level of fatigue. Rather, mechanistic studies should be performed with validated experimental models to identify the changes responsible for the reported fatigue. As indicated by three examples (walking endurance in old adults, time trials by endurance athletes, and fatigue in persons with multiple sclerosis) discussed in the review, however, it has proven challenging to develop valid experimental models of fatigue. The proposed framework provides a foundation to address the many gaps in knowledge of how laboratory measures of fatigue and fatigability affect real-world performance.

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Authors
ENOKA, R. M., & DUCHATEAU, J.
Affiliations
Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
Venue
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Published
2016-11
Volume
48
Issue
11
Pages
2228-2238
ISSN
0195-9131 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2312572125
Cited by
948
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 144 · 2025: 114 · 2024: 111 · 2023: 102 · 2022: 135 · 2021: 111 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 54 · 2018: 51 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 15
FWCI
8.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R03HD079508)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Muscle activation and electromyography studies
Keywords
fatigue, human performance, performance fatigability, perceived fatigability, endurance athletes, multiple sclerosis, fatigue management
MeSH terms
Aging, Fatigue, Humans, Multiple Sclerosis, Terminology as Topic, Perception, Physical Endurance, Sports, Walking, Muscle Fatigue

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