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The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds

PURPOSE: We investigated the role of elastic strain energy on the “apparent” efficiency of locomotion (AE), a parameter that is known to increase as a function of running speed (up to 0.5–0.7) well above the values of “pure” muscle efficiency (about 0.25–0.30). METHODS: In vivo ultrasound measuremen...

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Autores principales: Monte, Andrea, Maganaris, Constantinos, Baltzopoulos, Vasilios, Zamparo, Paola
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7557501/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32840697
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04472-9
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author Monte, Andrea
Maganaris, Constantinos
Baltzopoulos, Vasilios
Zamparo, Paola
author_facet Monte, Andrea
Maganaris, Constantinos
Baltzopoulos, Vasilios
Zamparo, Paola
author_sort Monte, Andrea
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: We investigated the role of elastic strain energy on the “apparent” efficiency of locomotion (AE), a parameter that is known to increase as a function of running speed (up to 0.5–0.7) well above the values of “pure” muscle efficiency (about 0.25–0.30). METHODS: In vivo ultrasound measurements of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle–tendon unit (MTU) were combined with kinematic, kinetic and metabolic measurements to investigate the possible influence of the Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on the mechanics (total mechanical work, W(TOT)) and energetics (net energy cost, C(net)) of running at different speeds (10, 13 and 16 km h(−1)); AE was calculated as W(TOT)/C(net). RESULTS: GM fascicles shortened during the entire stance phase, the more so the higher the speed, but the majority of the MTU displacement was accommodated by the Achilles tendon. Tendon strain and recoil increased as a function of running speed (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). The contribution of elastic energy to the positive work generated by the MTU also increased with speed (from 0.09 to 0.16 J kg(−1) m(−1)). Significant negative correlations (P < 0.01) were observed between tendon work and metabolic energy at each running speed (the higher the tendon work the lower the metabolic demand) and significant positive correlations were observed between tendon work and AE (P < 0.001) at each running speed (the higher the tendon work the higher the efficiency). CONCLUSION: These results support the notion that the dynamic function of tendons is integral in reducing energy expenditure and increasing the “apparent” efficiency of running.
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spelling pubmed-75575012020-10-19 The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds Monte, Andrea Maganaris, Constantinos Baltzopoulos, Vasilios Zamparo, Paola Eur J Appl Physiol Original Article PURPOSE: We investigated the role of elastic strain energy on the “apparent” efficiency of locomotion (AE), a parameter that is known to increase as a function of running speed (up to 0.5–0.7) well above the values of “pure” muscle efficiency (about 0.25–0.30). METHODS: In vivo ultrasound measurements of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle–tendon unit (MTU) were combined with kinematic, kinetic and metabolic measurements to investigate the possible influence of the Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on the mechanics (total mechanical work, W(TOT)) and energetics (net energy cost, C(net)) of running at different speeds (10, 13 and 16 km h(−1)); AE was calculated as W(TOT)/C(net). RESULTS: GM fascicles shortened during the entire stance phase, the more so the higher the speed, but the majority of the MTU displacement was accommodated by the Achilles tendon. Tendon strain and recoil increased as a function of running speed (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). The contribution of elastic energy to the positive work generated by the MTU also increased with speed (from 0.09 to 0.16 J kg(−1) m(−1)). Significant negative correlations (P < 0.01) were observed between tendon work and metabolic energy at each running speed (the higher the tendon work the lower the metabolic demand) and significant positive correlations were observed between tendon work and AE (P < 0.001) at each running speed (the higher the tendon work the higher the efficiency). CONCLUSION: These results support the notion that the dynamic function of tendons is integral in reducing energy expenditure and increasing the “apparent” efficiency of running. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2020-08-25 2020 /pmc/articles/PMC7557501/ /pubmed/32840697 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04472-9 Text en © The Author(s) 2020 Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
spellingShingle Original Article
Monte, Andrea
Maganaris, Constantinos
Baltzopoulos, Vasilios
Zamparo, Paola
The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds
title The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds
title_full The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds
title_fullStr The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds
title_full_unstemmed The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds
title_short The influence of Achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds
title_sort influence of achilles tendon mechanical behaviour on “apparent” efficiency during running at different speeds
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7557501/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32840697
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04472-9
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