Effect of habitual running on human Achilles tendon load-deformation properties and cross-sectional area

2003 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 2375-2380 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Hansen ◽  
P. Aagaard ◽  
M. Kjaer ◽  
B. Larsson ◽  
S. P. Magnusson
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Training Stimulus ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Triceps Surae ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Moment Arm ◽  
Angular Rotation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Deformation Properties

Whether the cross-sectional area (CSA) and mechanical properties of the human Achilles tendon change in response to habitual exercise remains largely unexplored. The present study evaluated the CSA and contraction-induced displacement of the aponeurosis-tendon complex of the triceps surae in 11 untrained subjects before ( tests 1 and 2) and after ( test 3) ∼9 mo of regular running (∼78 training sessions). Displacement of the tendon-aponeurosis complex obtained by ultrasonography; electromyography of the gastrocnemius, soleus, and dorsiflexor muscles; and joint angular rotation were recorded during graded isometric plantarflexion ramps. Tendon CSA and moment arm were measured by using MRI, and tendon force was calculated from joint moments and tendon moment arm. A treadmill test was used to determine submaximal oxygen consumption (V̇o2) at a given speed and maximal V̇o2. The total running duration was ∼43 h, distributed over 34 wk. Maximal V̇o2 increased 8.6% ( P < 0.01), and submaximal V̇o2 decreased 6.2% ( P < 0.05). Tendon-aponeurosis displacement during maximal voluntary contraction was unchanged ( tests 1–3, 5.2 ± 0.6, 5.2 ± 0.5, and 5.3 ± 0.4 mm, respectively) and yielded a structural stiffness of 365 ± 50, 358 ± 40, and 384 ± 52 N/mm for tests 1–3, respectively ( P > 0.05). Tendon CSA also remained unchanged ( tests 1–3, 34.2 ± 2.2, 33.9 ± 2.2, and 33.8 ± 2.1 mm2, respectively). In conclusion, a total training stimulus of ∼9 mo of running in previously untrained subjects was adequate to induce significant cardiovascular improvements, although it did not result in any changes in the mechanical properties of the triceps surea tendon-aponeurosis complex or in the dimensions of Achilles tendon.

Achilles Tendon Adaptation to Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation: Morphological and Mechanical Changes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Létocart ◽  
Jean-Francois Grosset
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Training Program ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Triceps Surae ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional

AbstractIt remains unclear whether neuromuscular electrical stimulation can induce sufficient tendon stress to lead to tendon adaptations. Thus, we investigated the effect of such a training program on the triceps surae muscle following the morphological and mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon. Eight men participated in a 12-week high-frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation training program of the triceps surae muscle under isometric conditions. Ultrasonography was used pre- and post-intervention to quantify cross-sectional area, free length, and total length of the Achilles tendon, as well as the myotendinous junction elongation during a maximal isometric ramp contraction under plantar flexion. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation training does not lead to changes in Achilles tendon free and total length, cross-sectional area, or maximal elongation capacity. However, a significant increase was evidenced in maximal tendon force post-training (+25.2%). Hence, Young’s Modulus and maximal stress were significantly greater after training (+12.4% and +23.4%, respectively). High-frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation training induces repeated stress sufficient to lead to adaptations of mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon. Thus, this training technique may be of particular interest as a new rehabilitation method in tendinopathy management or to counteract the effect of hypo-activity.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 8974
Author(s):  
Xini Zhang ◽  
Liqin Deng ◽  
Songlin Xiao ◽  
Lu Li ◽  
Weijie Fu
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Maximum Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Force Peak ◽  
Strain Stress

Background: Patients with Achilles tendon (AT) injuries are often engaged in sedentary work because of decreasing tendon vascularisation. Furthermore, men are more likely to be exposed to AT tendinosis or ruptures. These conditions are related to the morphological and mechanical properties of AT, but the mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sex on the morphological and mechanical properties of the AT in inactive individuals. Methods: In total, 30 inactive healthy participants (15 male participants and 15 female participants) were recruited. The AT morphological properties (cross-sectional area, thickness, and length) were captured by using an ultrasound device. The AT force–elongation characteristics were determined during isometric plantarflexion with the ultrasonic videos. The AT stiffness was determined at 50%–100% maximum voluntary contraction force. The AT strain, stress, and hysteresis were calculated. Results: Male participants had 15% longer AT length, 31% larger AT cross-sectional area and 21% thicker AT than female participants (p < 0.05). The plantarflexion torque, peak AT force, peak AT stress, and AT stiffness were significantly greater in male participants than in female participants (p < 0.05). However, no significant sex-specific differences were observed in peak AT strain and hysteresis (p > 0.05). Conclusions: In physically inactive adults, the morphological properties of AT were superior in men but were exposed to higher stress conditions. Moreover, no significant sex-specific differences were observed in peak AT strain and hysteresis, indicating that the AT of males did not store and return elastic energy more efficiently than that of females. Thus, the mechanical properties of the AT should be maintained and/or improved through physical exercise.

Age-related differences in Achilles tendon properties and triceps surae muscle architecture in vivo

2012 ◽  
Vol 113 (10) ◽  
pp. 1537-1544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Stenroth ◽  
Jussi Peltonen ◽  
Neil J. Cronin ◽  
Sarianna Sipilä ◽  
Taija Finni
Keyword(s):  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Young’S Modulus ◽  
Young's Modulus ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Triceps Surae ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tendon Stiffness ◽  
Triceps Surae Muscle ◽  
Age Related

This study examined the concurrent age-related differences in muscle and tendon structure and properties. Achilles tendon morphology and mechanical properties and triceps surae muscle architecture were measured from 100 subjects [33 young (24 ± 2 yr) and 67 old (75 ± 3 yr)]. Motion analysis-assisted ultrasonography was used to determine tendon stiffness, Young's modulus, and hysteresis during isometric ramp contractions. Ultrasonography was used to measure muscle architectural features and size and tendon cross-sectional area. Older participants had 17% lower ( P < 0.01) Achilles tendon stiffness and 32% lower ( P < 0.001) Young's modulus than young participants. Tendon cross-sectional area was also 16% larger ( P < 0.001) in older participants. Triceps surae muscle size was smaller ( P < 0.05) and gastrocnemius medialis muscle fascicle length shorter ( P < 0.05) in old compared with young. Maximal plantarflexion force was associated with tendon stiffness and Young's modulus ( r = 0.580, P < 0.001 and r = 0.561, P < 0.001, respectively). Comparison between old and young subjects with similar strengths did not reveal a difference in tendon stiffness. The results suggest that regardless of age, Achilles tendon mechanical properties adapt to match the level of muscle performance. Old people may compensate for lower tendon material properties by increasing tendon cross-sectional area. Lower tendon stiffness in older subjects might be beneficial for movement economy in low-intensity locomotion and thus optimized for their daily activities.

scholarly journals Muscles adaptation to aging and training: architectural changes – a randomised trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien J. Létocart ◽  
Franck Mabesoone ◽  
Fabrice Charleux ◽  
Christian Couppé ◽  
René B. Svensson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resistance Training ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Muscle Volume ◽  
Triceps Surae ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Training Volume ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Repetition Maximum

Abstract Background To investigate how anatomical cross-sectional area and volume of quadriceps and triceps surae muscles were affected by ageing, and by resistance training in older and younger men, in vivo. Methods The old participants were randomly assigned to moderate (O55, n = 13) or high-load (O80, n = 14) resistance training intervention (12 weeks; 3 times/week) corresponding to 55% or 80% of one repetition maximum, respectively. Young men (Y55, n = 11) were assigned to the moderate-intensity strengthening exercise program. Each group received the exact same training volume on triceps surae and quadriceps group (Reps x Sets x Intensity). The fitting polynomial regression equations for each of anatomical cross-sectional area-muscle length curves were used to calculate muscle volume (contractile content) before and after 12 weeks using magnetic resonance imaging scans. Results Only Rectus femoris and medial gastrocnemius muscle showed a higher relative anatomical cross-sectional area in the young than the elderly on the proximal end. The old group displayed a higher absolute volume of non-contractile material than young men in triceps surae (+ 96%). After training, Y55, O55 and O80 showed an increase in total quadriceps (+ 4.3%; + 6.7%; 4.2% respectively) and triceps surae (+ 2.8%; + 7.5%; 4.3% respectively) volume. O55 demonstrated a greater increase on average gains compared to Y55, while no difference between O55 and O80 was observed. Conclusions Muscle loss with aging is region-specific for some muscles and uniform for others. Equivalent strength training volume at moderate or high intensities increased muscle volume with no differences in muscle volume gains for old men. These data suggest that physical exercise at moderate intensity (55 to 60% of one repetition maximum) can reverse the aging related loss of muscle mass. Trial registration NCT03079180 in ClinicalTrials.gov. Registration date: March 14, 2017.

Comparison of the Cross Sectional Area, the Loss in Volume and the Mechanical Properties of LAE442 and MgCa0.8 as Resorbable Magnesium Alloy Implants after 12 Months Implantation Duration

2010 ◽  
Vol 638-642 ◽  
pp. 675-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Thomann ◽  
Nina von der Höh ◽  
Dirk Bormann ◽  
Dina Rittershaus ◽  
C. Krause ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Degradation Process ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Bending Test ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Initial Strength ◽  
Three Point Bending ◽  
The Cross

Current research focuses on magnesium based alloys in the course of searching a resorbable osteosynthetic material which provides sufficient mechanical properties besides a good biocompatibility. Previous studies reported on a favorable biocompatibility of the alloys LAE442 and MgCa0.8. The present study compared the degradation process of cylindrical LAE442 and MgCa0.8 implants after 12 months implantation duration. Therefore, 10 extruded implants (2.5 x 25 mm, cross sectional area 4.9 mm²) of both alloys were implanted into the medullary cavity of both tibiae of rabbits for 12 months. After euthanization, the right bone-implant-compound was scanned in a µ-computed tomograph (µCT80, ScancoMedical) and nine uniformly distributed cross-sections of each implant were used to determine the residual implants´ cross sectional area (Software AxioVisionRelease 4.5, Zeiss). Left implants were taken out of the bone carefully. After weighing, a three-point bending test was carried out. LAE442 implants degraded obviously slower and more homogeneously than MgCa0.8. The mean residual cross sectional area of LAE442 implants was 4.7 ± 0.07 mm². MgCa0.8 showed an area of only 2.18 ± 1.03 mm². In contrast, the loss in volume of LAE442 pins was more obvious. They lost 64 % of their initial weight. The volume of MgCa0.8 reduced clearly to 54.4 % which corresponds to the cross sectional area results. Three point bending tests revealed that LAE442 showed a loss in strength of 71.2 % while MgCa0.8 lost 85.6 % of its initial strength. All results indicated that LAE442 implants degraded slowly, probably due to the formation of a very obvious degradation layer. Degradation of MgCa0.8 implants was far advanced.

Habitual loading results in tendon hypertrophy and increased stiffness of the human patellar tendon

2008 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 805-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Couppé ◽  
M. Kongsgaard ◽  
P. Aagaard ◽  
P. Hansen ◽  
J. Bojsen-Moller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Patellar Tendon ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Isometric Contractions ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Strength Difference ◽  
Distal Tendon

The purpose of this study was to examine patellar tendon (PT) size and mechanical properties in subjects with a side-to-side strength difference of ≥15% due to sport-induced loading. Seven elite fencers and badminton players were included. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of the PT obtained from MRI and ultrasonography-based measurement of tibial and patellar movement together with PT force during isometric contractions were used to estimate mechanical properties of the PT bilaterally. We found that distal tendon and PT, but not mid-tendon, CSA were greater on the lead extremity compared with the nonlead extremity (distal: 139 ± 11 vs. 116 ± 7 mm2; mid-tendon: 85 ± 5 vs. 77 ± 3 mm2; proximal: 106 ± 7 vs. 83 ± 4 mm2; P < 0.05). Distal tendon CSA was greater than proximal and mid-tendon CSA on both the lead and nonlead extremity ( P < 0.05). For a given common force, stress was lower on the lead extremity (52.9 ± 4.8 MPa) compared with the nonlead extremity (66.0 ± 8.0 MPa; P < 0.05). PT stiffness was also higher in the lead extremity (4,766 ± 716 N/mm) compared with the nonlead extremity (3,494 ± 446 N/mm) ( P < 0.05), whereas the modulus did not differ (lead 2.27 ± 0.27 GPa vs. nonlead 2.16 ± 0.28 GPa) at a common force. These data show that a habitual loading is associated with a significant increase in PT size and mechanical properties.

Influence of muscle anatomical cross-sectional area on the moment arm length of the triceps brachii muscle at the elbow joint

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (14) ◽  
pp. 2844-2847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norihide Sugisaki ◽  
Taku Wakahara ◽  
Naokazu Miyamoto ◽  
Koichiro Murata ◽  
Hiroaki Kanehisa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elbow Joint ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Moment Arm ◽  
Triceps Brachii ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Triceps Brachii Muscle ◽  
The Moment

scholarly journals Patients with Achilles Tendon Rupture Have a Degenerated Contralateral Achilles Tendon: An Elastography Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianru Li ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Yehua Cai ◽  
Yinghui Hua
Keyword(s):  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Axial Strain ◽  
Achilles Tendon Rupture ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Mean

Purpose. To evaluate differences of Achilles tendon (AT) hardness and morphology between asymptomatic tendons in patients with acute AT ruptures on the contralateral side and asymptomatic tendons in healthy people by using computer-assisted quantification on axial-strain sonoelastography (ASE). Methods. The study consisted of 33 asymptomatic tendons in 33 patients (study group) and 34 tendons in 19 healthy volunteers (control group). All the tendons were examined by both ASE and conventional ultrasound. Computer-assisted quantification on ASE was applied to extract hardness variables, including the mean (Hmean), 20th percentile (H20), median (H50) and skewness (Hsk) of the hardness within tendon, and the ratio of the mean hardness within tendon to that outside tendon (Hratio) and three morphological variables: the thickness (THK), cross-sectional area, and eccentricity (ECC) of tendons. Results. The Hmean, Hsk, H20, H50, and Hratio in the proximal third of the tendon body in study group were significantly smaller than those in control group (Hmean: 0.43±0.09 vs 0.50±0.07, p=0.001; Hsk: -0.53±0.51 vs -1.09±0.51, p<0.001; H20: 0.31±0.10 vs 0.40±0.10, p=0.001; H50: 0.45±0.10 vs 0.53±0.08, p<0.001; Hratio: 1.01±0.25 vs 1.20±0.23, p=0.003). The THK and cross-sectional area of tendons in the study group were larger than those in the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions. As a quantitative objective method, the computer-assisted ASE reveals that the asymptomatic ATs contralateral to acute rupture are softer than those of healthy control group at the proximal third and the asymptomatic tendons in people with rupture history are thicker, larger, and rounder than those of normal volunteers especially at the middle and distal thirds of AT body.

Effects of cross-sessional area and aspect ratio coupled with orientation on mechanical properties and deformation behavior of Cu nanowires

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Cao ◽  
Wenke Chen ◽  
Zhiyuan Rui ◽  
Changfeng Yan
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Yield Stress ◽  
Young’S Modulus ◽  
Young's Modulus ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cu Nanowires ◽  
The Cross

Abstract Metal nanomaterials exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with corresponding bulk materials and have potential applications in various areas. Despite a number of studies of the size effect on Cu nanowires mechanical properties with square cross-sectional, investigations of them in rectangular cross-sectional with various sizes at constant volume are rare, and lack of multifactor coupling effect on mechanical properties and quantitative investigation. In this work, the dependence of mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms of Cu nanowires/nanoplates under tension on cross-sessional area, aspect ratio of cross-sectional coupled with orientation were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations and the semi-empirical expressions related to mechanical properties were proposed. The simulation results show that the Young’s modulus and the yield stress sharply increase with the aspect ratio except for the <110>{110}{001} Cu nanowires/nanoplates at the same cross-sectional area. And the Young’s modulus increases while the yield stress decreases with the cross-sectional area of Cu nanowires. However, both of them increase with the cross-sectional area of Cu nanoplates. Besides, the Young’s modulus increases with the cross-sectional area at all the orientations. The yield stress shows a mildly downward trend except for the <111> Cu nanowires with increased cross-sectional area. For the Cu nanowires with a small cross-sectional area, the surface force increases with the aspect ratio. In contrast, it decreases with the aspect ratio increase at a large cross-sectional area. At the cross-sectional area of 13.068 nm2, the surface force decreases with the aspect ratio of the <110> Cu nanowires while it increases at other orientations. The surface force is a linearly decreasing function of the cross-sectional area at different orientations. Quantitative studies show that Young’s modulus and yield stress to the aspect ratio of the Cu nanowires satisfy exponent relationship. In addition, the main deformation mechanism of Cu nanowires is the nucleation and propagation of partial dislocations while it is the twinning-dominated reorientation for Cu nanoplates.

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