Lower Extremity Muscle Morphology and Plantar Loading During Squatting with Different Heel Heights

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1210-1215
Author(s):  
Tanyan Xie ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Jan Awrejcewicz ◽  
Yaodong Gu
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limb ◽  
Plantar Pressure ◽  
Muscle Thickness ◽  
Pennation Angle ◽  
The Body ◽  
Muscle Morphology ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Heel Height ◽  
Lower Extremity Muscle ◽  
Limb Muscles

Objective: Although it is widely reported that high-heeled changes gait pattern in terms of motions and forces throughout the body, the biomechanics while high-heeled squatting has not been examined. This study aimed to explore the acute effects of different heel heights on muscle morphology and plantar loading during high-heeled squatting. Methods: Fourteen healthy females performed squats on high-heeled shoes with different heights: flat (0.8 cm), moderate (4.0 cm), and high (7.0 cm). Muscle thickness and pennation angle of selected lower limb muscles were measured by ultrasound imaging. Plantar pressure distribution and COP trajectory during an entire squatting motion were recorded. Results: As the heel height increased, the average and peak pressure consistently increased in the heel and hallux regions, while reversely changed in MF and LF regions. In addition, the selected lower limb muscles except for the lateral gastrocnemius and vastus medialis showed significant differences in muscle thickness and pennation angle between heel heights. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that increased heel height would enhance the immediate effects on muscle morphology as well as plantar pressure redistribution potentially causing lower limb muscle fatigue and injuries.

Comparison of Muscle Activity and Ultrasound Response of Lower Extremity Muscles During Treadmill and Track Running

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2091-2096
Author(s):  
Chenghui Lin ◽  
Shudong Li ◽  
Yining Lu ◽  
Huw Wiltshire
Keyword(s):  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Muscle Thickness ◽  
Pennation Angle ◽  
Treadmill Running ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius ◽  
Median Frequency ◽  
Muscle Morphology ◽  
Change Rate ◽  
Lower Extremity Muscle ◽  
Significant Difference

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the changes in lower extremity muscle morphology and electromyography (EMG) signals during treadmill running (TR) and plastic track running (PR). Methods: A total of 10 healthy male runners aged 22.5±1.3 years, height: 175.5±4.5 cm; weight: 71.9±2.7 kg; BMI: 22.1±1.1 volunteered to participate in this study. Muscle morphology data were collected by a portable ultrasound scanner before and after running. Median frequency (MF), mean power frequency (MPF) and root mean square (RMS) were monitored during TR and PR. Results: The results indicated that muscle thickness and pennation angle have increased after running. The muscle thickness after PR showed significantly higher than TR in tested muscle except tibialis anterior (TA) and medial gastrocnemius (MG). In contrast, only the pennation angle of TA and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) after PR was significantly different from that after TR (P <0.001, P = 0.002). The most significant difference in the change rate of muscle thickness was found at TA. In addition, TA and MG showed significantly higher change rate of the pennation angle after TR than that after PR. Both of MF and MPF showed a downward trend after TR and PR. It could discover that the MF and MPF of LG during TR showed a significantly lower than that during PR both in two phases (P =0.001, P <0.001). However, in the last 5 minutes, MF and MPF of MQ during PR were smaller than that during PR (P = 0.001, P = 0.015). Furthermore, MF of RF during TR showed significantly different from that during PR (P = 0.017). From the point of RMS, in the first five minutes, the RMS of medical quadriceps (MQ), lateral quadriceps (LQ), hamstring muscles (HM) and MG during TR was significantly higher than that of PR (P <0.05). In addition, the RMS of all tested muscles after TR was significantly higher than after PR during the last 5 minutes (P <0.05). Conclusions: The current study indicated that TR and PR would cause different effects to lower extremity muscle morphology. In addition, the EMG signals based on running surfaces are also unconformity. Compared with the plastic track, the treadmill will bring more stimulation to the lower extremity muscles. The preliminary findings provide further insights into the rationality of runners’ choice of the running surface.

Can muscle morphology and internal composition of lower limb muscles explain strength and gait deficits in children with spastic cerebral palsy?

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 114-115
Author(s):  
Britta Hanssen ◽  
Simon-Henri Schless ◽  
Marije Goudriaan ◽  
Lynn Bar-On ◽  
Kaat Desloovere
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Spastic Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Muscle Morphology ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Limb Muscles

Potential of lower-limb muscles to accelerate the body during cerebral palsy gait

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas A. Correa ◽  
Anthony G. Schache ◽  
H. Kerr Graham ◽  
Richard Baker ◽  
Pam Thomason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
The Body ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Limb Muscles

scholarly journals Neuromechanics of Dynamic Balance Tasks in the Presence of Perturbations

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Munoz-Martel ◽  
Alessandro Santuz ◽  
Sebastian Bohm ◽  
Adamantios Arampatzis
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Mechanical Loading ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
The Body ◽  
Muscle Synergy ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Modular Organization ◽  
Joint Moments ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Limb Muscles

Understanding the neuromechanical responses to perturbations in humans may help to explain the reported improvements in stability performance and muscle strength after perturbation-based training. In this study, we investigated the effects of perturbations, induced by unstable surfaces, on the mechanical loading and the modular organization of motor control in the lower limb muscles during lunging forward and backward. Fifteen healthy adults performed 50 forward and 50 backward lunges on stable and unstable ground. Ground reaction forces, joint kinematics, and the electromyogram (EMG) of 13 lower limb muscles were recorded. We calculated the resultant joint moments and extracted muscle synergies from the stepping limb. We found sparse alterations in the resultant joint moments and EMG activity, indicating a little if any effect of perturbations on muscle mechanical loading. The time-dependent structure of the muscle synergy responsible for the stabilization of the body was modified in the perturbed lunges by a shift in the center of activity (later in the forward and earlier in the backward lunge) and a widening (in the backward lunge). Moreover, in the perturbed backward lunge, the synergy related to the body weight acceptance was not present. The found modulation of the modular organization of motor control in the unstable condition and related minor alteration in joint kinetics indicates increased control robustness that allowed the participants to maintain functionality in postural challenging settings. Triggering specific modulations in motor control to regulate robustness in the presence of perturbations may be associated with the reported benefits of perturbation-based training.

scholarly journals Using transcranial magnetic stimulation to map the cortical representation of lower-limb muscles

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L Davies
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
The Body ◽  
Double Cone ◽  
Cortical Representation ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Limb Muscles

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can identify discrete cortical representation of lower-limb muscles in healthy individuals. Data were obtained from 16 young healthy adults (12 women, four men; mean [SD] age 23.0 [2.6] years). Motor evoked potentials were recorded from the resting vastus medialis, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, medial and lateral hamstring, and medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles on the right side of the body using bipolar surface electrodes. TMS was delivered through a 110-mm double-cone coil at 63 sites over the left hemisphere. Location and size of the cortical representation and the number of discrete peaks were quantified for each muscle. Within the quadriceps muscle group there was a main effect of muscle on anterior-posterior centre of gravity (p = 0.010), but the magnitude of the difference was very small. Within the quadriceps there was a main effect of muscle on medial-lateral hotspot (p = 0.027) and map volume (p = 0.047), but no post-hoc tests were significant. The topography of each lower-limb muscle was complex, displaying multiple peaks that were present across the stimulation grid, and variable across individuals. The results of this study indicate that TMS delivered with a 110-mm double-cone coil could not reliably identify discrete cortical representations of resting lower-limb muscles when responses were measured using bipolar surface electromyography. The characteristics of the cortical representation of lower-limb muscles reported here provide a basis against which to evaluate cortical reorganisation in clinical populations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document