Muscle activation during landing is paramount to stabilise lower limb joints and avoid abnormal movement patterns. Delayed muscle activity onset measured by electromyography (EMG) has been suggested to be associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to test the hypothesis if ACL-injured patients display different res...

We report a typical case of "tennis leg", in which the main finding was a fluid collection between the medial head of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Since the first clinical description of this entity in 1883, the injury has been attributed to rupture of the plantaris tendon. However, recent studies of this condition with sonography and magnetic resonance imaging have shown that most of ...

PURPOSE To compare the degree of stretching of sarcomeres--in the medial gastrocnemius versus the tibialis anterior--acutely extended by tibial lengthening. METHODS The right lower legs of 6 New Zealand White rabbits were acutely distracted by 6.3 mm using an external fixator, whereas the left lower legs served as controls. Immediately after distraction, the ankle was dorsiflexed at 50 degree...

This study attempted to evaluate the influence of using an unstable shoe in muscle recruitment strategies and center of pressure (CoP) displacement after the application of an external perturbation. Fourteen healthy female subjects participated in this study. The electromyographic activity of medial gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, rectus abdominis and erector s...

CONTEXT Stretching exercises are commonly prescribed for patients and healthy individuals with limited extensibility of the gastrocnemius muscle. OBJECTIVE To determine effects of gastrocnemius stretching on ankle dorsiflexion, knee extension, and gastrocnemius muscle activity during gait. DESIGN Randomized-control trial. SETTING Biomechanical laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Sixteen volunteers...

PURPOSE To quantify the effect of unstable shoe wearing on muscle activity and haemodynamic response during standing. METHODS Thirty volunteers were divided into 2 groups: the experimental group wore an unstable shoe for 8 weeks, while the control group used a conventional shoe for the same period. Muscle activity of the medial gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris and biceps femor...

Ultrasound images were obtained of the medial gastrocnemius at different ankle joint positions with the knee extended. Fascicle length and deep fascicle angle were measured in five normally developing adults (mean age 33 years, age range 24 to 36 years) and in five normally developing children (mean age 7.8 years, age range 7 to 11 years), and in seven children with spastic diplegia (mean age 1...

INTRODUCTION Muscle performance depends on the geometrical arrangement of fascicles and contribution of connective tissue both external and internal to the muscle belly. During concentric contractions the muscle belly shortens, the pennation angle increases and the belly thickness changes as a muscle produces force and power. As we age, the muscle structural parameters change [1] and this may c...

As reported previously, artificial selection of house mice caused a 2.7-fold increase in voluntary wheel running of four replicate selected lines compared with four random-bred control lines. Two of the selected lines developed a high incidence of a small-muscle phenotype ("mini muscles") in the plantar flexor group of the hindlimb, which apparently results from a simple Mendelian recessive all...