The acute effect of stretching on the passive stiffness of the human gastrocnemius muscle tendon unit.
Christopher I. Morse,Hans Degens,Olivier R. Seynnes,Constantinos N. Maganaris,David A. Jones,David A. Jones +5 more
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Passive stretching was commonly used to increase limb range of movement prior to athletic performance but it is unclear which component of the muscle–tendon unit (MTU) is affected by this procedure but post‐conditioning this was not the case suggesting that at least part of the change in muscle with conditioning stretches was due to altered properties of connective tissue.Abstract:
Passive stretching is commonly used to increase limb range of movement prior to athletic performance but it is unclear which component of the muscle-tendon unit (MTU) is affected by this procedure. Movement of the myotendinous junction (MTJ) of the gastrocnemius medialis muscle was measured by ultrasonography in eight male participants (20.5 +/- 0.9 years) during a standard stretch in which the ankle was passively dorsiflexed at 1 deg s(-1) from 0 deg (the foot at right angles to the tibia) to the participants' volitional end range of motion (ROM). Passive torque, muscle fascicle length and pennation angle were also measured. Standard stretch measurements were made before (pre-) and after (post-) five passive conditioning stretches. During each conditioning stretch the MTU was taken to the end ROM and held for 1 min. Pre-conditioning the extension of the MTU during stretch was taken up almost equally by muscle and tendon. Following conditioning, ROM increased by 4.6 +/- 1.5 deg (17%) and the passive stiffness of the MTU was reduced (between 20 and 25 deg) by 47% from 16.0 +/- 3.6 to 10.2 +/- 2.0 Nm deg(-1). Distal MTJ displacement (between 0 and 25 deg) increased from 0.92 +/- 0.06 to 1.16 +/- 0.05 cm, accounting for all the additional MTU elongation and indicating that there was no change in tendon properties. Muscle extension pre-conditioning was explicable by change in length and pennation angle of the fascicles but post-conditioning this was not the case suggesting that at least part of the change in muscle with conditioning stretches was due to altered properties of connective tissue.read more
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Stretching versus transitory icing: which is the more effective treatment for attenuating muscle fatigue after repeated manual labor?
TL;DR: Stretching, whether static or ballistic, is not beneficial for recovery from muscle fatigue and may actually inhibit recovery, so icing may more effectively induce such recovery and thus may be a better choice between the two treatment techniques.
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Avineck, the neck of the bird, an arm for the robots
Anick Abourachid,Philippe Wenger +1 more
TL;DR: In the Avineck project, the morpho-functional adaptations of the cranio-cervical system in birds are used to test hypotheses about the macro-evolution of the birds, and to bring these biological outcomes as solutions for the technological challenges that current robotics are facing.
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Effects of long-term self-massage at the musculotendinous junction on hamstring extensibility, stiffness, stretch tolerance, and structural indices: A randomized controlled trial
Naoki Akazawa,Naomi Okawa,Masaki Kishi,Kiyoshi Nakatani,Katsuya Nishikawa,Daichi Tokumura,Yuji Matsui,Hideki Moriyama +7 more
TL;DR: The results suggest that long-term self-massage at the musculotendinous junction increases hamstring extensibility by improving stretch tolerance, however, this intervention does not change hamstring stiffness.
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The mechanisms of adaptation for muscle fascicle length changes with exercise: Implications for spastic muscle.
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Journal Article
Acute Effects of Dynamic Stretching on Mechanical Properties Result From both Muscle-Tendon Stretching and Muscle Warm-Up.
Jules Opplert,Nicolas Babault +1 more
TL;DR: Results may suggest that, during dynamic stretching, muscle-tendon stretching effects would partly counteract muscle warm-up effects.
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