NCT06871670

Force Control in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Knee Extensors Force Control in People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 36 (actual)
• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Toulon La Seyne sur Mer · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Maximal muscle strength is one of the most commonly assessed neuromuscular parameters in people with COPD due to its accessibility and relevance for prescribing an appropriate workload for resistance training. However, maximal force production is very rarely necessary during daily activities which requires production of submaximal and precisely controlled forces. Despite growing research on motor impairments in COPD, very little attention has been given to the effect of this disease on force control. Therefore, this research aims to better understand the potential deficits in force control caused by COPD, through the use of advanced signal processing methods (i.e., nonlinear approaches). We hypothesized that force control would be reduced in people with COPD compared to healthy individuals, particularly at low force levels.

Detailed description

This observational study is based on the analyses of data (force signals) recorded during the first visit of NEUROTIGUE study (NCT04028973). Force signals were recorded during brief submaximal isometric contractions of the knee extensors performed by both COPD patients and healthy individuals. Each participant performed contractions at different intensity of his/her maximal muscle strength : 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60%. Two contractions of approximately 6s duration were performed at each intensity by all participants. For a given intensity (e.g., 10%), both contractions were performed in a row but different intensities were accomplished in a random order. Force control will be assess using a conjunction of parameters to provide a comprehensive understanding of force variability (e.g., coefficient of variation, non-linear approaches).

Conditions

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Submaximal isometric contractions of knee extensors	Brief isometric contractions performed at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60% of maximal voluntary force in a random order.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-03-07
• Primary completion: 2025-03-08
• Completion: 2025-03-08
• First posted: 2025-03-12
• Last updated: 2026-04-13

Locations

1 site across 1 country: France