Relationship between Muscle Strength and Tendon Stiffness of the Ankle Plantarflexors and Its functional Consequence

Abstract

Tendon elasticity is an important factor affecting muscle function and thus human movements. It has been reported that the mechanical properties of tendon are adaptable to external loading condition. Based on the adaptability of muscle and tendon to external loading conditions, one can assume that there might be an optimum ratio between muscle strength and tendon stiffness. The present study aimed to investigate whether there is correlation between plantar flexor muscle strength and stiffness of the achilles tendon (AT). Twenty two male subjects (age: 23.2±1.5 yrs, height: 175.5±6.2 cm, weight: 75.4±9.8 kg) performed maximum voluntary isometric plantarflexion on a custom-built dynamometer and muscle-tendon junction of the medial gastrocnemius muscle was simultaneously monitored using a real-time ultrasound imaging machine. The averages of muscle force and tendon stiffness were 366.38±79.37 N, 35.34±10.42 N/mm, respectively. Significant positive correlation was observed between muscle strength and tendon stiffness (r=0.8507), indicating that the muscle force is proportional to tendon stiffness. The results might have been used in computational modeling and criterion of training progress level in the fields of training and rehabilitation