scholarly journals Effect of habitual foot-strike pattern on the gastrocnemius medialis muscle-tendon interaction and muscle force production during running

2019 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 708-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wannes Swinnen ◽  
Wouter Hoogkamer ◽  
Tijs Delabastita ◽  
Jeroen Aeles ◽  
Friedl De Groote ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Ground Contact ◽  
Muscle Forces ◽  
Flexor Muscle ◽  
Contraction Velocity ◽  
Foot Strike

The interaction between gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle and Achilles tendon, i.e., muscle-tendon unit (MTU) interaction, plays an important role in minimizing the metabolic cost of running. Foot-strike pattern (FSP) has been suggested to alter MTU interaction and subsequently the metabolic cost of running. However, metabolic data from experimental studies on FSP are inconsistent, and a comparison of MTU interaction between FSP is still lacking. We, therefore, investigated the effect of habitual rearfoot and mid-/forefoot striking on MTU interaction, ankle joint work, and plantar flexor muscle force production while running at 10 and 14 km/h. GM muscle fascicles of 9 rearfoot and 10 mid-/forefoot strikers were tracked using dynamic ultrasonography during treadmill running. We collected kinetic and kinematic data and used musculoskeletal models to determine joint angles and calculate MTU lengths. In addition, we used dynamic optimization to assess plantar flexor muscle forces. During ground contact, GM fascicle shortening ( P = 0.02) and average contraction velocity ( P = 0.01) were 40–45% greater in rearfoot strikers than mid-/forefoot strikers. Differences in contraction velocity were especially prominent during early ground contact. Moreover, GM ( P = 0.02) muscle force was greater during early ground contact in mid-/forefoot strikers than rearfoot strikers. Interestingly, we did not find differences in stretch or recoil of the series elastic element between FSP. Our results suggest that, for the GM, the reduced muscle energy cost associated with lower fascicle contraction velocity in mid-/forefoot strikers may be counteracted by greater muscle forces during early ground contact. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Kinetic and kinematic differences between foot-strike patterns during running imply (not previously reported) altered muscle-tendon interaction. Here, we studied muscle-tendon interaction using ultrasonography. We found greater fascicle contraction velocities and lower muscle forces in rearfoot compared with mid-/forefoot strikers. Our results suggest that the higher metabolic energy demand due to greater fascicle contraction velocities might offset the lower metabolic energy demand due to lower muscle forces in rearfoot compared with mid-/forefoot strikers.

Predictive Neuromuscular Fatigue of the Lower Extremity Utilizing Computer Modeling

2015 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Samaan ◽  
Joshua T. Weinhandl ◽  
Steven A. Hans ◽  
Sebastian Y. Bawab ◽  
Stacie I. Ringleb
Keyword(s):  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Cruciate Ligament ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Neuromuscular Fatigue ◽  
Lower Extremity Injury ◽  
Muscle Forces ◽  
Flexor Muscle ◽  
Lower Extremity Muscle ◽  
Muscle Force Production

This paper studies the modeling of lower extremity muscle forces and their correlation to neuromuscular fatigue. Two analytical fatigue models were combined with a musculoskeletal model to estimate the effects of hamstrings fatigue on lower extremity muscle forces during a side step cut. One of the fatigue models (Tang) used subject-specific knee flexor muscle fatigue and recovery data while the second model (Xia) used previously established fatigue and recovery parameters. Both fatigue models were able to predict hamstrings fatigue within 20% of the experimental data, with the semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles demonstrating the largest (11%) and smallest (1%) differences, respectively. In addition, various hamstrings fatigue levels (10–90%) on lower extremity muscle force production were assessed using one of the analytical fatigue models. As hamstrings fatigue levels increased, the quadriceps muscle forces decreased by 21% (p < 0.01), while gastrocnemius muscle forces increased by 36% (p < 0.01). The results of this study validate the use of two analytical fatigue models in determining the effects of neuromuscular fatigue during a side step cut, and therefore, this model can be used to assess fatigue effects on risk of lower extremity injury during athletic maneuvers. Understanding the effects of fatigue on muscle force production may provide insight on muscle group compensations that may lead to altered lower extremity motion patterns as seen in noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.

scholarly journals Muscle mechanical advantage of human walking and running: implications for energy cost

2004 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 2266-2274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Biewener ◽  
Claire T. Farley ◽  
Thomas J. Roberts ◽  
Marco Temaner
Keyword(s):  
Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Inverse Dynamics ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Knee Extensor ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Mechanical Advantage

Muscular forces generated during locomotion depend on an animal's speed, gait, and size and underlie the energy demand to power locomotion. Changes in limb posture affect muscle forces by altering the mechanical advantage of the ground reaction force ( R) and therefore the effective mechanical advantage (EMA = r/ R, where r is the muscle mechanical advantage) for muscle force production. We used inverse dynamics based on force plate and kinematic recordings of humans as they walked and ran at steady speeds to examine how changes in muscle EMA affect muscle force-generating requirements at these gaits. We found a 68% decrease in knee extensor EMA when humans changed gait from a walk to a run compared with an 18% increase in hip extensor EMA and a 23% increase in ankle extensor EMA. Whereas the knee joint was extended (154–176°) during much of the support phase of walking, its flexed position (134–164°) during running resulted in a 5.2-fold increase in quadriceps impulse (time-integrated force during stance) needed to support body weight on the ground. This increase was associated with a 4.9-fold increase in the ground reaction force moment about the knee. In contrast, extensor impulse decreased 37% ( P < 0.05) at the hip and did not change at the ankle when subjects switched from a walk to a run. We conclude that the decrease in limb mechanical advantage (mean limb extensor EMA) and increase in knee extensor impulse during running likely contribute to the higher metabolic cost of transport in running than in walking. The low mechanical advantage in running humans may also explain previous observations of a greater metabolic cost of transport for running humans compared with trotting and galloping quadrupeds of similar size.

scholarly journals Contraction frequency modulates muscle fatigue and the rate of myoglobin desaturation during incremental contractions in humans

2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 915-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Wigmore ◽  
Douglas E. Befroy ◽  
Ian R. Lanza ◽  
Jane A. Kent-Braun
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Fatigue ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Isometric Contractions ◽  
Metabolic Demand ◽  
Contraction Frequency ◽  
Duty Cycles ◽  
Force Time

The metabolic cost of force production, and therefore the demand for oxygen, increases with intensity and frequency of contraction. This study investigated the interaction between fatigue and oxygenation, as reflected by deoxymyoglobin (dMb), during slow and rapid rhythmic isometric contractions having the same duty cycles and relative force–time integrals (FTIs). We used 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and measures of dorsiflexor muscle force to compare dMb and fatigue (fall of maximal voluntary force, MVC) in 11 healthy adults (29 ± 7 y) during 16 min of slow (4 s contraction, 6 s relaxation) and rapid (1.2 s, 1.8 s) incremental (10%–80% MVC) contractions. We tested the hypotheses that (i) the rate of Mb desaturation would be faster in rapid than in slow contractions and (ii) fatigue, Mb desaturation, and the fall in FTI would be greater, and PO2 (oxygen tension) lower, at the end of rapid contractions than at the end of slow contractions. Although dMb increased more quickly during rapid contractions (p = 0.05), it reached a plateau at a similar level in both protocols (~42% max, p = 0.49), likely due to an inability to further increase force production and thus metabolic demand. Despite the similar dMb at the end of both protocols, fatigue was greater in rapid (56.6% ± 2.7% baseline) than in slow (69.5% ± 4.0%, p = 0.01) contractions. These results indicate that human skeletal muscle fatigue during incremental isometric contractions is in part a function of contraction frequency, possibly due to metabolic inhibition of the contractile process.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of Estimated Muscle Force in Forward Simulation of Normal Walking

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Xiao ◽  
Jill Higginson
Keyword(s):  
Fiber Length ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Muscle Group ◽  
Knee Extensors ◽  
Muscle Forces ◽  
Normal Walking ◽  
Forward Simulation ◽  
Individual Muscle ◽  
Slack Length

Generic muscle parameters are often used in muscle-driven simulations of human movement to estimate individual muscle forces and function. The results may not be valid since muscle properties vary from subject to subject. This study investigated the effect of using generic muscle parameters in a muscle-driven forward simulation on muscle force estimation. We generated a normal walking simulation in OpenSim and examined the sensitivity of individual muscle forces to perturbations in muscle parameters, including the number of muscles, maximum isometric force, optimal fiber length, and tendon slack length. We found that when changing the number of muscles included in the model, only magnitude of the estimated muscle forces was affected. Our results also suggest it is especially important to use accurate values of tendon slack length and optimal fiber length for ankle plantar flexors and knee extensors. Changes in force production by one muscle were typically compensated for by changes in force production by muscles in the same functional muscle group, or the antagonistic muscle group. Conclusions regarding muscle function based on simulations with generic musculoskeletal parameters should be interpreted with caution.

scholarly journals The metabolic cost of in vivo constant muscle force production at zero net mechanical work

2019 ◽  
Vol 222 (8) ◽  
pp. jeb199158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim J. van der Zee ◽  
Koen K. Lemaire ◽  
Arthur J. van Soest
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Mechanical Work ◽  
Muscle Force Production

scholarly journals Linking the mechanics and energetics of hopping with elastic ankle exoskeletons

2012 ◽  
Vol 113 (12) ◽  
pp. 1862-1872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic James Farris ◽  
Gregory S. Sawicki
Keyword(s):  
Force Production ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Metabolic Power ◽  
Flexor Muscle ◽  
Consumption Data ◽  
Ankle Exoskeleton ◽  
Slack Length ◽  
Mass Spring ◽  
Kinematics And Kinetics ◽  
Ankle Joint Moment

The springlike mechanics of the human leg during bouncing gaits has inspired the design of passive assistive devices that use springs to aid locomotion. The purpose of this study was to test whether a passive spring-loaded ankle exoskeleton could reduce the mechanical and energetic demands of bilateral hopping on the musculoskeletal system. Joint level kinematics and kinetics were collected with electromyographic and metabolic energy consumption data for seven participants hopping at four frequencies (2.2, 2.5, 2.8, and 3.2 Hz). Hopping was performed without an exoskeleton; with an springless exoskeleton; and with a spring-loaded exoskeleton. Spring-loaded ankle exoskeletons reduced plantar flexor muscle activity and the biological contribution to ankle joint moment (15–25%) and average positive power (20–40%). They also facilitated reductions in metabolic power (15–20%) across frequencies from 2.2 to 2.8 Hz compared with hopping with a springless exoskeleton. Reductions in metabolic power compared with hopping with no exoskeleton were restricted to hopping at 2.5 Hz only (12%). These results highlighted the importance of reducing the rate of muscular force production and work to achieve metabolic reductions. They also highlighted the importance of assisting muscles acting at the knee joint. Exoskeleton designs may need to be tuned to optimize exoskeleton mass, spring stiffness, and spring slack length to achieve greater metabolic reductions.

scholarly journals Energy demand during exponential growth of Octopus maya: exploring the effect of age and weight

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 1501-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Briceño ◽  
Maite Mascaró ◽  
Carlos Rosas
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Respiration Rate ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Mass Production ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Octopus Maya ◽  
Effect Of Age

Abstract Briceño, F., Mascaró, M., and Rosas, C. 2010. Energy demand during exponential growth of Octopus maya: exploring the effect of age and weight. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1501–1508. Recent work has reported changes associated with physiological, morphological, and behavioural adaptation during the absorption of yolk reserves. The holobenthic endemic species Octopus maya was used to explore the energy supply needed from the food intake (I; J animal−1 d−1) to supply the rate of production energy needed for body mass (P; J animal−1 d−1) and respiration rate (R; J animal−1 d−1) as a function of weight and age during the exponential early growth phase of the animal. Individually housed juveniles from hatching (1 d) to 105 d after hatching (DAH) were used, with the age and weight known, and the relationship between oxygen consumption (VO2; mg O2 animal−1 d−1) and weight (g) was established. Projections of I, R, and P as a function of age (Z) were made. The food intake destined to supply body mass production (%P/I) and respiration rate energy (%R/I) was analysed for an extended age range of 1–150 DAH. When O. maya juveniles hatched, they had a greater requirement for R than for P from the food intake, 61% (%R/I) and 13% (%P/I), respectively, suggesting high metabolic cost associated with post-hatching (during yolk absorption). Within the period where ZR > ZP (1–105 DAH), there was sufficient metabolic energy to satisfy the demands for sustaining exponential body mass production. The age at which %R/I = %P/I delimits the point where P cannot increase for reasons of metabolic constraint.

scholarly journals Fifteen observations on the structure of energy-minimizing gaits in many simple biped models

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (54) ◽  
pp. 74-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Stride Length ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Isometric Force ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Legged Locomotion ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Muscle Work ◽  
Symmetry Properties ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
In Series

A popular hypothesis regarding legged locomotion is that humans and other large animals walk and run in a manner that minimizes the metabolic energy expenditure for locomotion. Here, using numerical optimization and supporting analytical arguments, I obtain the energy-minimizing gaits of many different simple biped models. I consider bipeds with point-mass bodies and massless legs, with or without a knee, with or without a springy tendon in series with the leg muscle and minimizing one of many different ‘metabolic cost’ models—correlated with muscle work, muscle force raised to some power, the Minetti–Alexander quasi-steady approximation to empirical muscle metabolic rate (from heat and ATPase activity), a new cost function called the ‘generalized work cost’ C g having some positivity and convexity properties (and includes the Minetti–Alexander cost and the work cost as special cases), and generalizations thereof. For many of these models, walking-like gaits are optimal at low speeds and running-like gaits at higher speeds, so a gait transition is optimal. Minimizing the generalized work cost C g appears mostly indistinguishable from minimizing muscle work for all the models. Inverted pendulum walking and impulsive running gaits minimize the work cost, generalized work costs C g and a few other costs for the springless bipeds; in particular, a knee-torque-squared cost, appropriate as a simplified model for electric motor power for a kneed robot biped. Many optimal gaits had symmetry properties; for instance, the left stance phase was identical to the right stance phases. Muscle force–velocity relations and legs with masses have predictable qualitative effects, if any, on the optima. For bipeds with compliant tendons, the muscle work-minimizing strategies have close to zero muscle work (isometric muscles), with the springs performing all the leg work. These zero work gaits also minimize the generalized work costs C g with substantial additive force or force rate costs, indicating that a running animal's metabolic cost could be dominated by the cost of producing isometric force, even though performing muscle work is usually expensive. I also catalogue the many differences between the optimal gaits of the various models. These differences contain information that might help us develop models that better predict locomotion data. In particular, for some biologically plausible cost functions, the presence or absence of springs in series with muscles has a large effect on both the coordination strategy and the absolute cost; the absence of springs results in more impulsive (collisional) optimal gaits and the presence of springs leads to more compliant optimal gaits. Most results are obtained for specific speed and stride length combinations close to preferred human behaviour, but limited numerical experiments show that some qualitative results extend to other speed-stride length combinations as well.

scholarly journals The energetic basis for smooth human arm movements

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy D Wong ◽  
Tyler Cluff ◽  
Arthur D Kuo
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Energy Cost ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Reaching Movements ◽  
Human Arm ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Muscle Force Production ◽  
Human Arm Movements

The central nervous system plans human reaching movements with stereotypically smooth kinematic trajectories and fairly consistent durations. Smoothness seems to be explained by accuracy as a primary movement objective, whereas duration seems to economize energy expenditure. But the current understanding of energy expenditure does not explain smoothness, so that two aspects of the same movement are governed by seemingly incompatible objectives. Here we show that smoothness is actually economical, because humans expend more metabolic energy for jerkier motions. The proposed mechanism is an underappreciated cost proportional to the rate of muscle force production, for calcium transport to activate muscle. We experimentally tested that energy cost in humans (N=10) performing bimanual reaches cyclically. The empirical cost was then demonstrated to predict smooth, discrete reaches, previously attributed to accuracy alone. A mechanistic, physiologically measurable, energy cost may therefore explain both smoothness and duration in terms of economy, and help resolve motor redundancy in reaching movements.

scholarly journals The energetic basis for smooth human arm movements

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy D Wong ◽  
Tyler Cluff ◽  
Arthur D Kuo
Keyword(s):  
Energy Cost ◽  
Muscle Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Excess Energy ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Reaching Movements ◽  
Human Arm ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Muscle Force Production ◽  
Human Arm Movements

AbstractThe central nervous system plans human reaching movements with stereotypically smooth kinematic trajectories and fairly consistent durations. Smoothness seems to be explained by accuracy as a primary movement objective, whereas duration seems to avoid excess energy expenditure. But energy does not explain smoothness, so that two aspects of the same movement are governed by seemingly incompatible objectives. Here we show that smoothness is actually economical, because humans expend more metabolic energy for jerkier motions. The proposed mechanism is an underappreciated cost proportional to the rate of muscle force production, for calcium transport to activate muscle. We experimentally tested that energy cost in humans (N=10) performing bimanual reaches cyclically. The empirical cost was then demonstrated to predict smooth, discrete reaches, previously attributed to accuracy alone. A mechanistic, physiologically measurable, energy cost may therefore unify smoothness and duration, and help resolve motor redundancy in reaching movements.

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