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The Mechanics of Gait
Published in Verna Wright, Eric L. Radin, Mechanics of Human Joints, 2020
Knee flexion is provided by four groups of muscles (Fig. 7). All but two of these cross another joint and thus have an additional function. The popliteus and biceps femoris short head (BFSH) are the two purely knee flexors. Normal phasing of the BFSH is in initial swing. There is no clear phasic pattern for the popliteus. It appears to respond to a hyperextension thrust and also to intiate knee flexion at times. Both vary considerably among individuals. Hamstring knee flexor action is dominated by hip extensor roles in terminal swing and loading response. The gastrocnemius is also capable of flexing the knee, but its primary role is as an ankle plantar flexor during stance.
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Published in Splinter Robert, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Applied and Engineering Physics, 2017
[biomedical, mechanics] Leg muscle below the knee which is split from the lower single connection to the soleus muscle, which in-turn is attached to the Achilles tendon and can hence flex the foot while connected to the calcaneus (heel bone). The gastrocnemius forms the main attribute for the calf of the lower leg.
What to stretch? - Isolated proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching of either quadriceps or triceps surae followed by post-stretching activities alters tissue stiffness and jump performance
Published in Sports Biomechanics, 2022
Andreas Konrad, Wolfgang Seiberl, Markus Tilp, Denis Holzer, Florian Kurt Paternoster
A MyotonPro device (Myoton Ltd., Estonia) was used to assess the passive muscle and tendon stiffness of the triceps surae and quadriceps muscle-tendon units. For the assessment of the triceps surae muscle-tendon unit (i.e., Achilles tendon, gastrocnemius medialis, and gastrocnemius lateralis), the participant was asked to remain in a resting position, lying prone, with their foot hanging freely off the therapy couch (Chang et al., 2020). For the assessment of the quadriceps muscles (vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and rectus femoris), the participant was asked to change into a supine position, with their hips and knees fully extended (Klich et al., 2020). For the assessment of the patellar tendon, the participant was asked to remain in a sitting position, with their hip and knee joints at 90° (Klich et al., 2020).
Strength and power capabilities predict weighted parameter ranking of saut de chat leaping performance in dancers
Published in Sports Biomechanics, 2021
Paige E. Rice, Kiisa Nishikawa, Sophia Nimphius
To identify determinants of saut de chat leaping performance, muscle-tendon characteristics were measured in addition to leaping. Dynamometry was used to assess MVIP strength at two ankle angles. Dynamometry and ultrasonic techniques were used to assess medial gastrocnemius stiffness and Achilles tendon stiffness. Reflective markers were placed on the dancers and they completed six saut de chat leaps atop five force platforms surrounded by nine motion capture cameras. Relative centre of mass peak power, leap height (centre of mass displacement), peak split angle, average trunk angle and trunk angle variation were measured from leaping trials. A weighted parameter ranking tool was developed using leap height (35%), peak split angle (35%), average trunk angle (20%) and trunk angle range (10%) to develop an objective measure of aesthetic performance using quantitative measures. Weightings were developed based on experience in the dance field (PER).
Muscle force characteristics of male and female collegiate cross-country runners during overground running
Published in Journal of Sports Sciences, 2020
C. Nathan Vannatta, Thomas G. Almonroeder, Thomas W. Kernozek, Stacey Meardon
Male runners in our study demonstrated relatively higher gastrocnemius and soleus muscle forces compared to the female runners, which would likely result in greater Achilles tendon loading for the male runners since it is responsible for transmitting gastrocnemius and soleus forces to the calcaneus (Doral et al., 2010). Excessive/repetitive loading without adequate recovery may degrade the Achilles tendon which could lead to injury (Kader, Saxena, Movin, & Maffulli, 2002). As a result, our findings may help to explain why male runners are more likely to develop Achilles tendinopathy (Taunton et al., 2002). We are not aware of another study comparing gastrocnemius/soleus muscle forces in male and female runners. However, our results appear to be consistent with a previous study which estimated Achilles tendon forces using the net ankle plantarflexion moment and the Achilles tendon moment arm and reported that male runners demonstrated greater Achilles tendon loading compared to female runners (Greenhalgh & Sinclair, 2014).