The time course of phosphorylcreatine resynthesis during recovery of the quadriceps muscle in man

Abstract

The time course of phosphorylcreatine (PC) resynthesis in the human m. quadriceps femoris was studied during recovery from exhaustive dynamic exercise and from isometric contraction sustained to fatigue. The immediate postexercise muscle PC content after either form of exercise was 15–16% of the resting muscle content. The time course of PC resynthesis during recovery was biphasic exhibiting a fast and a slow recovery component. The half-time for the fast component was 21–22 s but this accounted for a smaller fraction of the total PC restored during recovery from the isometric contraction than after the dynamic exercise. The half-time for the slow component was in each case more than 170 s. After 2 and 4 min recovery the total amounts of PC resynthesized after the isometric exercise were significantly lower than from the dynamic exercise. Occlusion of the circulation to the quadriceps completely abolished the resynthesis of PC. Restoration of resynthesis occurred only after release of occlusion.