Slowing of the contractile properties of skeletal muscle is one of the characteristic features of
fatigue. First studied as a slowing of relaxation from an isometric contraction, it has become
apparent that this slowing is indicative of functional changes in muscle responsible for a
major loss of power with all its functional repercussions. There are three factors contributing
to the loss of power in mammalian muscle at physiological temperatures, a decrease in
isometric force, which mainly indicates a reduction in the number of active cross bridges, a …