0000000000437586
AUTHOR
Markku Järvinen
Biomechanical Loading of Achilles Tendon During Normal Locomotion
Direct in vivo Achilles tendon force measurements open up new possibilities for understanding the loading of the Achilles tendon during natural locomotion. This article describes how these human experiments can be performed. The results of these experiments imply that Achilles tendon forces are unexpectedly high in certain activities (e.g., hopping) and that the rates of loading rather than the absolute magnitudes of the recorded forces may be more relevant for clinical purposes as well as for the construction of artificial tendon materials.
In vivo achilles tendon loading' during jumping in humans
Elastic behaviour of the human tendomuscular system during jumping was investigated by determination of the in vivo Achilles tendon force. A buckle-type transducer was implanted under local anaesthesia around the right Achilles tendon of an adult subject. After calibration, the Achilles tendon force was recorded together with the triceps surae muscle electromyogram activity and high speed filming and ground reaction force during: a maximal vertical jump from a squat position, a maximal vertical jump from an erect standing position with a preliminary counter-movement, and repetitive submaximal hopping on the spot. Jumping heights were 33, 40 and 7 cm in the squat, the counter movement, and t…
Comparison between the directly measured achilles tendon force and the tendon force calculated from the ankle joint moment during vertical jumps.
Summary The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship between the achilles tendon force and the tendon force estimated from the ankle joint moment (EATF) during vertical jump. A healthy male subject performed the following jumps on the force platform: (a) maximal vertical jump from a squat position without counter-movement; (b) maximal vertical jump from an erect standing position with a preliminary counter-movement; (c) repetitive submaximal hopping on the spot with preferred frequency. The achilles tendon force was measured directly with an implanted tendon transducer in all jumping conditions. In addition the joint moment obtained from the film and ground reaction force was u…