kth.sePublications KTH
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
ISB clinical biomechanics award winner 2023: Medial gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon interplay during gait in cerebral palsy
Univ Jyvaskyla, Fac Sport & Hlth Sci, Jyvaskyla, Finland.;Univ Jyvaskyla, Fac Sport & Hlth Sci, Rautpohjankatu 8, Jyvaskyla 40700, Finland..
Childrens Hosp Eastern Switzerland, Lab Mot Anal, St Gallen, Switzerland..
Univ Jyvaskyla, Fac Sport & Hlth Sci, Jyvaskyla, Finland..ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4291-1614
Univ Jyvaskyla, Fac Sport & Hlth Sci, Jyvaskyla, Finland..
Show others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Clinical Biomechanics, ISSN 0268-0033, E-ISSN 1879-1271, Vol. 111, article id 106158Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: The interplay between the medial gastrocnemius muscle and the Achilles tendon is crucial for efficient walking. In cerebral palsy, muscle and tendon remodelling alters the role of contractile and elastic components. The aim was to investigate the length changes of medial gastrocnemius belly and fascicles, and Achilles tendon to understand their interplay to gait propulsion in individuals with cerebral palsy.Methods: Twelve young individuals with cerebral palsy and 12 typically developed peers were assessed during multiple gait cycles using 3D gait analysis combined with a portable ultrasound device. By mapping ultrasound image locations into the shank reference frame, the medial gastrocnemius belly, fascicle, and Achilles tendon lengths were estimated throughout the gait cycle. Participants with cerebral palsy were classified into equinus and non-equinus groups based on their sagittal ankle kinematics.Findings: In typically developed participants, the Achilles tendon undertook most of the muscle-tendon unit lengthening during stance, whereas in individuals with cerebral palsy, this lengthening was shared between the medial gastrocnemius belly and Achilles tendon, which was more evident in the equinus group. The lengthening behaviour of the medial gastrocnemius fascicles resembled that of the Achilles tendon in cerebral palsy. Interpretation: The findings revealed similar length changes of the medial gastrocnemius fascicles and Achilles tendon, highlighting the enhanced role of the muscle in absorbing energy during stance in cerebral palsy. These results, together with the current knowledge of increased intramuscular stiffness, suggest the exploitation of intramuscular passive forces for such energy absorption.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2024. Vol. 111, article id 106158
Keywords [en]
Muscle and tendon length, Fascicle length, Muscle and tendon strain, Pennation angle, Joint kinematics, Stance phase
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-342877DOI: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2023.106158ISI: 001137572100001PubMedID: 38061205Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85179005595OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-342877DiVA, id: diva2:1833559
Note

QC 20240201

Available from: 2024-02-01 Created: 2024-02-01 Last updated: 2025-02-11Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMedScopus

Authority records

Wang, ZhongzhengWang, Ruoli

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Sukanen, MariaWang, ZhongzhengWang, RuoliFinni, Taija
By organisation
Engineering Mechanics
In the same journal
Clinical Biomechanics
Sport and Fitness Sciences

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 183 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf