Title

The type of Muscle Fibers and composition of Muscle Fiber, and its relationship with Endurance Running and performance of runners- A systematic literature review.

Abstract:

There are number of muscle fibers such as slow-twitch (Type I) and fast-twitch (Type II) fibers and their different properties affect an athlete's ability to endure fatigue, use oxygen efficiently, and perform. This muscle fiber types overall affect the ability of an athlete or runner to improve their performances.

This research aims to carry out a systematic literature review to find out the relationship in between the type of muscle fibers, their compositions, characteristics, and association with impacting endurance performance of runners. To carry out this research the methodology that has been chosen is the systematic literature review that consists of interpretive research paradigm.

To find out the research articles “Muscle fibers”, “Athletes “Performance” and “Runners “have been developed as the search terms or phrases. AND, OR and IN were used as the Boolean operators.

PubMed and Google Scholar have been the databases of choice to conduct this research. CASP tool has been selected as the quality appraisal tool for finding out the quality of the research. To present the data and analyse thematic analysis has been selected as the data analysis tool and while conducting this research the ethical considerations of a research will be considered throughout the study. 

Introduction:

Muscle fibers are well known specialized cells which found within the body and are associated with controlling the physical forces. These muscle fibers are mainly composed of a number of long, cylindrical fibers which could be0.02mm to 0.08 mm in diameter (SEER Training 2021).

It has been seen that in endurance running, which is one type of vigorous physiological activity is directly impacted by number of factors with composition of muscle fibers playing a major role in it that overall influence the runners or athlete’s performance (Plotkin et al. 2021).

As per research of Murach et al. (2019), Type I, also called as slow-twitch fibers, Type IIxor fast-twitch muscle fibers, as well as TypeIIa or intermediate fibers are the muscle fibers that are associated with the overall movement of the humans. Furthermore, it was seen that in elite endurance athletes, including long-distance runners and cyclists, have increased levels of Type I, or slow-twitch, fibres in their bodies.

Conversely, top power athletes like weightlifters and sprinters have a lot of fast-twitch IIa and IIx fibres in them (Plotkinet al. 2021). The different types of muscle fibers play an ever-more-important role as runners seek to increase their endurance. Thus, it can be said that various types of muscle fibers are significant for the functioning of the body. The report is primarily based on the analysis of the relationship between the presence of different types of muscle fibers and the performance of runners. 

Literature Review:

Overview as well as the characteristics of muscle fiber types:

Type 1 and Type 2 muscles have been observed to have the best physical qualities and structural features also. However,  they share a complex connection when athletic performance is considered. According to Hopwood et al. (2023), it has been observed that performance and attributes in team sports are influenced by MFT or muscle fiber  type.

On the other hand, skeletal muscle fibers are also divided into two types – Type I and Type II. These types are known as slow twitch and rapid twitch. Type II has been observed to have two subtypes – IIa and IIx.

The research study thus discussed the significance of genetics, MFT and overall advantage provided for sports performance and athletics. Furthermore, it has been observed that MHC or myosin heavy chain isoforms are significant in increasing the endurance of muscles while performing physical activity. Thus, it can be said that the ability of muscles to convert to hybrid states, slow and fast fibers play a major role. 

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Endurance Training-Induced Muscle Fiber Adaptations:

The study by Lee et al provides a deeper understanding of the concept of transient receptor potential melastatin 2 (TRPM2)-mediated calcium signalling and its relationship to muscle fiber type transmission. (2018). According to their research, muscle tissue changes due to TRPM2-mediated calcium signalling. This researchhypothesizes that after training begins, TRPM2 signalling determines the distribution of fiber types, causing skeletal muscle to contract. 

Correlation Between Fiber Types, Composition and Endurance Performance:

According to the Wingate test series, the average power production of FT (fast) and ST (slow) was similar (Lievens et al. 2020). On the other hand, van Der Zwaard et al. (2021) has used non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging to observe the muscle states while exercising. The results have shown that the muscle fiber types had a major impact on the performance of resistance based exercises.

However, van Der Zwaard et al. (2021) highlighted that type I thin fibres, which have a high capacity for mitochondrial oxidation, are linked to positive patient outcomes in this setting. This review highlights the importance of myoglobin concentration and capillary structure in skeletal muscle for oxygen flow during resistance activities and recommends planned training programs that take this into account for skeletal muscle decisions when designing exercise intensity, frequency, duration, and performance of the circuit.

Despite of the availability of the research based on the Muscle Fiber Typesand its composition, there is a strong requirement of conducting researchthat could reveal the actual relationship of muscle fiber types and how it works in increasing the endurance performance of the runners and athletes, which have been found as notable gap of the available literature. 

Research question and aims

Research Aim:

The research aim that have been developed in this context to carry out the research is to carry out a systematic literature review to find out the relationship in between the type of muscle fibers, their compositions, characteristics, and association with impacting endurance performance of runners.

Sub-Aims:
•    To find out and explore the types of muscle fibers and their structure or composition and characteristics.
•    To find out and analyse the relationships between types of muscle fibers and their overall impact on the endurance performance of the runners and athletes. 

Research Question:

The research question that has been developed in this research to find out the answer of this research is: “What are the composition of the muscle fibers and what is the relationship between the type of muscle fibers, and performance of runners?”

Definitions:

Slow- Twitch muscle fibers:Slow-twitch muscle fibers, known as type I or red fibers, contain more mitochondria and myoglobin and are aerobic.
Fast-Twitch muscle fibers:Fast-twitch fibers, also known as type 2 fibers, are white and fast-twitch. They contain less mitochondria and less myoglobin and less aerobic in nature compared to slow-twitch muscle fibers.

Perspective and Methodology

Biology Research methodology relates to the strategies and tactics employed to properly present the findings of the study. It has to do with systematically planning a study to ensure that the goals and objectives of the investigation are fulfilled. Presenting the concept and outlining the various forms of research methods are essentially the researcher's duties.

To address research questions or test hypotheses, quantitative or qualitative data must be gathered, analysed, and interpreted using a systematic, scientific process known as the research methodology (Byrd 2020). By limiting the study's scope, a method of study serves as a kind of research strategy, keeping researchers on course.

Several factors, including potential ethical issues and study limits, need to be taken into account before choosing an acceptable research approach. Among various research methods qualitative and quantitative research methods are the most widely used research methods that are employed in a research process.

To define the quantitative research method, it could be stated that the research method that mainly focused on numerical data measurement and testing are thequantitative research study (Cleland 2017). This strategy works well for quickly contacting a large number of individuals.

This kind of study aids in prediction-making, examining the causal links between variables, and extrapolating findings to larger populations. On the other hand, the qualitative research approach focuses on people's beliefs, actions, and experiences as it gathers and examines textual data and words (Byrd 2020).

Since each participant in the qualitative research approach spends a significant amount of time, it requires fewer participants but still requires more time. When conducting exploratory research when the research problem is not well defined, this approach is employed. In this research context, qualitative research method has been chosen to carry out this research. 

In order to better comprehend experiences, phenomena, and context, qualitative research is crucial in the field of education. It does this by addressing the "how" and "why" research questions. With qualitative research, researchers may better comprehend human experience by posing questions that are difficult to answer with statistics (Cleland 2017).In addition to this qualitative research, attitudes can be recorded as they develop.

Ideas can change and develop during discussions, which can be documented through qualitative research. Also, compared to quantitative approaches, qualitative research methods are not constrained by the same limitations. As this research collects non-numerical data, there is room for explanations that explain the data (Busetto et al. 2020).

In more clear statement it could be stated that this study followed a systematic literature review design based on qualitative research methods. A scientific strategy for collecting research findings to address a specific research question is the systematic literature review (SLR) (Munn et al. 2018).

Compared to literature reviews, which provide general answers, SLR is more in-depth and accurate. Systematic reviews are considered reliable sources because they present comprehensive, replicable, and accurate results. The type of technology and assessment system used depends on the purpose and objectives of the study.

Guided by the principles of transparency and reductionism, a systematic literature review maintains the principles of clarity and reductionism by providing a broad overview of the literature related to the research problem and combining previous work to increase knowledge about a specific topic (Williams et al. 2021).

In this research context, qualitative research such as systematic literature review could be effective as it might be able toprovide indepth detailsof the human experiences end might help to get the detailed analysis of the research articles selected for the systematic literature review.

By detailed analysis of athletes and what type of muscle fibers are linked with overall running performance and endurance could provide the readers detailed ideaabove the research topic. Moreover, the in detailed qualitative datamight help the athletes as well as healthcare professionals the opportunity to improve their knowledgeon endurance performance, physiological measures and healthy way to improve their performance by avoiding any injury.

Research paradigm:

A research paradigm is a collection of principles, views, ideas, models, and methods that scientists employ to direct their investigation. The paradigm is determined by the research's objective. Three main research paradigms are positivism, pragmatism, and interpretivism that are linked to scientific research (Nickerson 2022). In this context of systematic literature review, interpretivism has been selected as the research paradigm.

A philosophical perspective and research methodology known as interpretivism examines social events through a perspective of the particular value system that exists in the community or culture in which they take place. The naturalistic method of data collecting, which includes observations and interviews, is the foundation of the interpretive approach (Alborough and Hansen 2023).

With the interpretivism school of thought, secondary data study is also quite popular. Interpretations typically become apparent in these kinds of investigations near the conclusion of the investigation.In order to find or produce a rich and deep knowledge of the topic under investigation, interpretive techniques rely on observation and enquiry.

This is strongly related to qualitative data collecting techniques (Nickerson 2022). Furthermore,taking an interpretive approach to research funding has the advantage of taking into account the social contexts of practitioners and different stakeholders. Integrating context, culture, and structure to understand philanthropy.

It includes random observations and other data collection (Alborough and Hansen 2023). Furthermore, this model can be integrated with other aid-based or verbal methods to support theoretical work on fundraising and its effects.

It translates well to the study of muscle fiber types and endurance in running because it focuses on understanding the subjective experiences and mechanisms that athletes associate with their training and performance.

Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, interpretivism may examine the intricacies of individual viewpoints, training techniques, and environmental factors.

This benchmarking methodology works well with the intricate nature of research issues. Finding significant and situation-specific insights that enhance our comprehension of the intricate connections between various muscle fibre types and endurance performance in athletes is made simpler as a result.

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Methodology:

Literature Searching Strategy:

It is recognised from Patel and Patel's (2019) study that a thorough description of the interventions of interest, the anticipated patient event, and the suitable outcomes are necessary for a systematic evaluation of a programme. Key views and questions should be communicated simply and clearly.

The databases used to gather material relevant to this context and literature collection were PubMed and Google Scholar. These databases were chosen because they are relevant to a variety of disciplines, including social work, psychology, and medicine. Access to an abundance of materials appropriate for peer review is another benefit.

In the framework of a systematic literature review, other search techniques including emailing authors, looking through reference lists, or manual searching were not employed. The objective of this investigation was to examine earlier research that had been published, and the search approach employed specific databases to find pertinent content.

The process of developing search words or search phrases comes next in the literature search approach, after the databases selection.In this context of research, the search terms that have been developed are “Muscle fibers”, “Performance” and “Runners”.

Furthermore, synonyms such as “athletes” in place of “runners” and “red muscle fibers” instead of “muscle fibers” and “performance” replaced by “endurance”, “muscle fatigue” or “fatigue rate” will also be used. Followed by the next step is the use of BOOLEAN operators that are mainly used to shape the search process in the selected databases (McGowan et al. 2016). The BOOLEAN operators that have been selected in this context to find the relevant research articles are AND, OR and IN. 

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria:

To establish the inclusion criteria for the studies examined, the populations, types of treatment and outcomes included in the questionnaire were excluded from the systematic review. Search results based on inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to determine which research articles should be included in the review.The inclusion and exclusion criteria used in this study are shown below.

Inclusion criteria:

• The primary research papers are the ones that will be chosen for inclusion in this systematic literature review.
• Due to the quality element, the literature that will be included in the context consists of peer-reviewed works that are published in journals.
• The review of the literature that was done on the differences between fast- and slow-twitching muscle fiber types and how they affect running efficiency will be included.
• The literature reviews that will be chosen for this context are those that were published in the last ten years, or after 2013.
• Only publications published in English, which is a language that is widely used, will be selected in this context.

Exclusion criteria:

•    Secondary research publications are the type of research papers that will not be included in this systematic literature evaluation
•    Non-peer reviewed publications are among the literatures that will be disregarded in this context as they lack authenticity and validity.
•    The literature review that examines at the influence of predictors on running performance and other subjects.
•    The studies that examined the literature that were published before 2013, or before the 10-year period, will be excluded from this research. 
•    The articles that were published in other languages than English language will be excluded.
 

Table 1: PICO template for inclusion and exclusion criteria

Screening Strategy:

Finding relevant literature is one rationale to discuss the significance of screening strategies. Grønkjaer and Lauridsen (2021) highlight the relevance of this crucial component of the reproach approach, citing its effective deployment of resources as just one reason for its importance.

Its selection in this specific study is also based on its relevance to the research objectives and its minimisation of bias. Given the number of processes involved, the technique may be seen as time-consuming. The initial screening will be conducted based on abstracts and titles (Teixeiraet al.2023).

When it comes to recognising irrelevant documents, it is useful. Identification of inclusion and exclusion criteria is one of the phases, and it aids in obtaining articles about eligibility.Numerous methodologies are available for use in research methodology; however, in this study, a two-step screening process will be employed, which allowed for the successful extraction of useful results from peer-reviewed data.

Those that lack artistic talent were picked since they are highly pertinent to this research subject. In this study, a comprehensive reading technique will be used. Even though it takes a lot of time, this method ischosen to acquire the best outcome possible for the study question.  

Quality Appraisal:

The appraisal instrument of choice will be the Case Control study's CASP tool. Since the participants were split into two groupscases, or athletes, and controls, or non-athletes this instrument has been employed. Researchers may quickly and readily evaluate the validity of a case-control study by using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool (Hall et al. 2021).

The purpose of CASP tools is to support researchers in the health sciences in their critical evaluation of the available data. They can assist researchers in assessing the reliability, significance, and outcomes of data presented in an article.

Since the two groups' muscle fiber compositions were compared, this study met the requirements for a case-control. Consequently, it can be said that the CASP tool was a justifiable assessment instrument when it was chosen for the Case Control research.

Data Extraction and Analysis Method:

The data extraction procedure will make use of a typical data extraction form created in a spreadsheet application such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. There will be columns on the extraction form with relevant data from the selected studies, such as the names of the authors, the years of publication, the research designs, sample sizes, age ranges, diagnostic criteria, and prevalence rates.

Additionally, a theme analysis approach has been used to examine the data that has been gathered. This analysis entails flexible pattern recognition, in-depth examination, and data organisation that may yield comprehensive and extensive information about the chosen study topic (Whyle and Olivier, 2020).

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Ethical Issues:

Ethical issues or considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices.In research, ethical issues play a significant role as by following research ethics the researchers could promote genuine knowledge, the truth, and the avoidance of error are the goals that the researcher must uphold (Resnik 2015).

Also, by abiding by ethical standards, academics can approach their work collaboratively with the help of their mentors, peers, and other research participants.To achieve this, all stakeholders engaged in research must uphold principles including responsibility, trust, respect, and fairness.

All contributors' intellectual property rights, which are formed by putting ethical concerns into practice, must be protected for this to happen.Furthermore, the validity and ethical elements of the results that have been published have a significant impact on the public's view of new findings as well as the scientific community's reputation (Resnik 2015).

When using human subjects in research, it is especially crucial to draw a clear line between appropriate and inappropriate behaviour. It is getting more and harder for scientists to publish original and groundbreaking findings because of how competitive the field is.

According to Donato and Donato (2019), a comprehensive examination of the literature include all papers that have data. It is crucial to note that they specifically do not deal with human participants in this situation. It is possible to conclude that there is a significantly lower likelihood of ethical problems in this situation when taking this element into account.

Participants' express consent is required in terms of ethics. The researcher connected to the journals has previously followed it. It is essential to acknowledge, nevertheless, that failure to seek authors' consent may give rise to ethical concerns. Unfortunately, in this instance, they were not appropriately followed.

This would avoid bringing up the ethical aspect of the matter.The element can also be discussed in relation to legal requirements. This was not observed in this investigation either.Research for an SLR necessitates gathering data from a variety of sources. It is essential to protect sensitive data's privacy and confidentiality.

Since these guidelines were correctly followed for this research, the study was able to be finished in the allotted time. An insufficient coverage of this literature might also result from publication bias, which is another significant problem.

Timetable

To conduct this research a specific timeline has been developed that would help the research team to complete the research within a specific time. The timeline of this research would consist of the steps from choosing the research topic to disseminate the study to wider audience and all the involved steps of the research are presented in tabular format that have been presented in the Appendix 1.

Budget and likely funding sources

The budget for the study comprises $1,000 for accessing all the articles in full text, $2,000 for research team wages, and $500 for data processing tools. $3,500 is the total anticipated cost. There will be a variety of funding sources. The research will apply for a grant ($2,000) from the National Endurance Research Foundation to support sports science research.

In-kind funding for participation incentives and travel costs will also be secured through collaborations with sports gear suppliers and cooperation with nearby running groups. Through cost-sharing agreements with colleagues and the research team's institutional resources, the remaining sum will be self-funded.

Dissemination of results

The findings that would be obtained from this research on muscle fibers and sports activity such as running will be disseminated by using a number of channels for maximising the impact of the findings. The research findings would be published in peer-reviewed journals that are associated with sports science, athletics and medicine which might provide future researchers an option to go through the study.

Moreover, the research team of this research will engage with the sports or athletics and healthcare community by using various seminar and workshops that could be arranged by various agencies. This multi-pronged strategy to disseminate the findings could be effective in exchanging the knowledge and overall implications. 

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