Introduction 2000 2006 2002 1990 2004 1986 2002 1990 1991 1987 2006 1999 1999 1992 2007 2005 Methods Subjects Ten healthy subjects (eight males and two females; age 27 ± 1 years; weight 68 ± 2 kg; height 174 ± 2 cm; data in mean ± SEM) gave informed, written consent to participate in this study. The procedures complied with the Helsinki declaration for human experimentation and were approved by the local Ethics Committee. None of the subjects suffered from muscle soreness or ankle injuries. Subjects were asked to avoid caffeine intake within the 8-h preceding the test and to avoid all vigorous activity during the 24-h preceding the test. Subjects were also asked to refrain from analgesic intake all along the protocol, which could have disturbed DOMS perception. Experimental procedures 1 Fig. 1 Thin arrow H max thick arrow M max double thick arrow M max  Neuromuscular tests 1 H max H max M M max H max M max soleus gastrocnemius medialis H max H sup M max M sup M max 1995 1995 Muscle soreness assessment 2001 Backward downhill walking exercise −1 2005 Measurement and calculations Torque measurement The MVT of the plantar flexor muscles was recorded by a dynamometric pedal (Captels, St Mathieu de Treviers, France). Subject position was standardized with hip, knee and ankle angulations of 90°, and foot securely strapped on the pedal. Evoked potentials 2002 M max H max H max H max Recordings soleus soleus 1970 gastrocnemius medialis Calculation M max H sup H max H max H sup 1996 H max M max H sup M sup Statistical analysis Z P Results Maximal voluntary torque, voluntary activation and contractile properties F 4,36 P 2 F 1,9 P F 1,9 P Fig. 2 a b c d black rectangle white rectangle Asterisk P  P 2 P F 4,36 P 2 F 1,9 P F 1,9 P Subjective DOMS F 4,27 P 2 F 1,9 P F 1,9 P Evoked potentials 3 1 M max F 4,36 soleus gastrocnemius medialis M sup F 4,36 soleus gastrocnemius medialis H max M max H sup M sup F 4,36 1 Fig. 3 Example of evoked potentials recorded in a representative subject. Each drawing represents the average of three recordings obtained on a relaxed muscle  Table 1 M max M sup H max M max H sup M sup  Exercise Recovery Statistical analysis Before After 24-h 48-h 72-h Soleus M max 7.35 6.80 7.83 7.74 7.18 NS 0.53 0.49 0.8 0.58 0.75  M sup 8.87 8.13 9.05 8.91 8.75 NS 1.14 0.76 1.13 0.97 1.29  H max M max 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.36 NS 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.09  H sup M sup 0.39 0.45 0.39 0.34 0.34 NS 0.10 0.10 0.08 0.08 0.06  Gastrocnemius medialis M max 6.61 6.10 6.42 6.83 6.50 NS 1.07 0.76 0.64 1.0 0.92  M sup 9.40 7.04 8.24 7.95 8.14 NS 1.29 1.06 0.81 0.89 2.26  H max M max 0.18 0.19 0.22 0.19 0.19 NS 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05  Data in mean ± SEM Discussion 2 2 2004 2 2001 2 P 2 2 2002 2003 2007 2004 2006 1996 2005 2005 2005 2005 2002 1987 1999 2006 1986 2002 1990 1991 1987 1999 H max M max H sup M sup 2002 1990 2004 1999 1992 2007 1981 1999 2003 1996 2000 2006 F 1,9 P 2001 2001 2005 2006 2006 Conclusion 2007