Biomechanical characteristics of skeletal muscles and associations between running speed and contraction time in 8- to 13-year-old children

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between running speeds and contraction times in 8- to 13-year-old children. METHOD: This longitudinal study analyzed tensiomyographic measurements of vastus lateralis and biceps femoris muscles’ contraction times and maximum running speeds in 107 children (53 boys, 54 girls). Data were evaluated using multiple correspondence analysis. RESULTS: A gender difference existed between the vastus lateralis contraction times and running speeds. The running speed was less dependent on vastus lateralis contraction times in boys than in girls. Analysis of biceps femoris contraction times and running speeds revealed that running speeds of boys were much more structurally associated with contraction times than those of girls, for whom the association seemed chaotic. CONCLUSION: Joint category plots showed that contraction times of biceps femoris were associated much more closely with running speed than those of the vastus lateralis muscle. These results provide insight into a new dimension of children’s development.