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

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, bu...

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Autores principales: Zhang, Xini, Deng, Liqin, Xiao, Songlin, Li, Lu, Fu, Weijie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8430544/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34501564
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18178974
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author Zhang, Xini
Deng, Liqin
Xiao, Songlin
Li, Lu
Fu, Weijie
author_facet Zhang, Xini
Deng, Liqin
Xiao, Songlin
Li, Lu
Fu, Weijie
author_sort Zhang, Xini
collection PubMed
description 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.
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spelling pubmed-84305442021-09-11 Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon Zhang, Xini Deng, Liqin Xiao, Songlin Li, Lu Fu, Weijie Int J Environ Res Public Health Article 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. MDPI 2021-08-26 /pmc/articles/PMC8430544/ /pubmed/34501564 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18178974 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Zhang, Xini
Deng, Liqin
Xiao, Songlin
Li, Lu
Fu, Weijie
Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon
title Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon
title_full Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon
title_fullStr Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon
title_full_unstemmed Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon
title_short Sex Differences in the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon
title_sort sex differences in the morphological and mechanical properties of the achilles tendon
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8430544/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34501564
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18178974
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