In vivo behaviour of human muscle tendon during walking
Tetsuo Fukunaga,Keitaro Kubo,Yasuo Kawakami,Senshi Fukashiro,Hiroaki Kanehisa,Constantinos N. Maganaris +5 more
TLDR
Two important features emerged: the muscle contracted near–isometrically in the stance phase, with the fascicles operating at ca.Abstract:
In the present study we investigated in vivo length changes in the fascicles and tendon of the human gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle during walking. The experimental protocol involved real-time ultrasound scanning of the GM muscle, recording of the electrical activity of the muscle, measurement of knee- and ankle-joint rotations, and measurement of ground reaction forces in six men during walking at 3 km h(-1) on a treadmill. Fascicular lengths were measured from the sonographs recorded. Musculotendon complex length changes were estimated from anatomical and joint kinematic data. Tendon length changes were obtained combining the musculotendon complex and fascicular length-change data. The fascicles followed a different length-change pattern from those of the musculotendon complex and tendon throughout the step cycle. Two important features emerged: (i) the muscle contracted near-isometrically in the stance phase, with the fascicles operating at ca. 50 mm; and (ii) the tendon stretched by ca. 7 mm during single support, and recoiled in push-off. The behaviour of the muscle in our experiment indicates consumption of minimal metabolic energy for eliciting the contractile forces required to support and displace the body. On the other hand, the spring-like behaviour of the tendon indicates storage and release of elastic-strain energy. Either of the two mechanisms would favour locomotor economyread more
Citations
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Role of Extracellular Matrix in Adaptation of Tendon and Skeletal Muscle to Mechanical Loading
TL;DR: Full understanding of these physiological processes will provide the physiological basis for understanding of tissue overloading and injury seen in both tendons and muscle with repetitive work and leisure time physical activity.
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Compliant leg behaviour explains basic dynamics of walking and running
TL;DR: A simple bipedal spring–mass model is shown that not stiff but compliant legs are essential to obtain the basic walking mechanics and reproduces the characteristic stance dynamics that result in the observed small vertical oscillation of the body and the observed out-of-phase changes in forward kinetic and gravitational potential energies.
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Where tendons and ligaments meet bone: attachment sites (‘entheses’) in relation to exercise and/or mechanical load
Michael Benjamin,Hechmi Toumi,James Robert Ralphs,Graeme M. Bydder,Thomas M. Best,Stefan Milz +5 more
TL;DR: This review focuses on the structure–function correlations of entheses on both the hard and the soft tissue sides of the junction, and the degenerative, rather than inflammatory, nature of most enthesopathies in sport.
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Energetic consequences of walking like an inverted pendulum: step-to-step transitions.
TL;DR: Walking like an inverted pendulum reduces muscle-force and work demands during single support, but it also requires mechanical work to redirect the body’s center of mass in the transition between steps, when one pendular motion is substituted by the next.
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Developing maximal neuromuscular power: part 2 - training considerations for improving maximal power production.
TL;DR: This series of reviews focuses on the most important neuromuscular function in many sport performances, the ability to generate maximal muscular power, and the factors that affect maximal power production.
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