Duringeccentriccontractions,muscularforceproductioncapacityisenhancedcomparedtoisometriccontractions.Althoughthisiswellacceptedintermsofmusclemechanics,maximalvoluntaryeccentriccontractionsareassociatedwithneuralinhibitionthatpreventsincreasedforceproductionofinvivohumanmuscles.However,becauseitwasshownthatmaximalvoluntaryeccentricforcescanexceedmaximumisometricforcesbyafactorof1.2-1.4,thisreviewfocusesonthequestionofwhethertheabsenteccentricforceenhancement,asobservedinmanystudies,canunambiguouslybeattributedtoaninherentneuralinhibition.First,wedemonstratethatparticipantfamiliarization,preload,andfasciclebehaviorarecrucialfactorsinfluencingmaximalvoluntaryeccentricforceproduction.Second,weshowthatmusclemechanicssuchasmusclelength,lengtheningvelocity,andstretchamplitudeinteractwhenitcomestomaximalvoluntaryeccentricforceproduction.Finally,wediscussthepergingfindingsonneuralinhibitionduringmaximalvoluntaryeccentriccontractions.Becausetherewasnoinhibitionofthemajormotorpathwaysinthepresenceofenhancedmaximalvoluntaryeccentricforces,furtherresearchisneededtotesttheconceptofneuralinhibitionandtounderstandwhymaximalvoluntaryforceproductionisreducedcomparedtotheforcecapacityofisolatedmusclepreparations.
