ArticleThe Journal of experimental biology2014
Geared up to stretch: pennate muscle behavior during active lengthening.
Article in The Journal of experimental biology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of high vs. low volume of the nordic hamstring curl on hamstring muscle architecture and eccentric strength in soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Mechanical control: parallel pathways for modulating movement.The Journal of experimental biology · 2026Review
- Eccentric Exercise and Muscle Damage: An Introductory Guide.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
- In situ muscle pre-activation shifts the lateral gastrocnemius muscle-tendon unit to rely on active fascicle lengthening to absorb peak power input.The Journal of experimental biology · 2026Article
- Soleus Muscle Stiffness is Regulated by Scaled Activation to Manage Unpredictable and Predictable Walking Perturbations.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Primate Swallowing Is Powered by Both Rotation and Contraction of Suprahyoid Muscles.American journal of biological anthropology · 2026Article
- Neuromechanical basis of region-specific differences and their implications for sport performance and injury prevention: a narrative review.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- A Critical Occluding Tension Phase Transition Occurs Between 30% and 40% 1RM in Dynamic Knee Extension Exercise.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2025Article
- Decoupling of muscle-tendon unit and fascicle velocity contributes to the in vivo stretch-shortening cycle effect in the male human triceps surae muscle.Physiological reports · 2024Article
- Comparative muscle anatomy of the anuran pelvis and hindlimb in relation to locomotor mode.Journal of anatomy · 2024Article
- Impact of contraction intensity and ankle joint angle on calf muscle fascicle length and pennation angle during isometric and dynamic contractions.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Fascicle Behavior and Muscle Activity of The Biceps Femoris Long Head during Running at Increasing Speeds.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2024Article
- Linking in vivo muscle dynamics to force-length and force-velocity properties reveals that guinea fowl lateral gastrocnemius operates at shorter than optimal lengths.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- A methodological approach for collecting simultaneous measures of muscle, aponeurosis, and tendon behaviour during dynamic contractions.Biology open · 2024Article
- Force Production and Electromyographic Activity during Different Flywheel Deadlift Exercises.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A Conceptual Exploration of Hamstring Muscle-Tendon Functioning during the Late-Swing Phase of Sprinting: The Importance of Evidence-Based Hamstring Training Frameworks.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Review
- LinkingbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- The effects of temperature on elastic energy storage and release in a system with a dynamic mechanical advantage latch.The Journal of experimental biology · 2023Article
- Human in vivo medial gastrocnemius gear during active and passive muscle lengthening: effect of inconsistent methods and nomenclature on data interpretation.Biology open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Many locomotor activities require muscles to actively lengthen, dissipate energy and decelerate the body. These eccentric contractions can disrupt cytoskeletal structures within myofibrils and reduce force output. We examined how architectural features of pennate muscles can provide a protective mechanism against eccentric muscle damage by limiting fascicle lengthening. It has been previously shown that the angled fibers of pennate muscles change orientation when shortening. This change in fiber orientation can amplify fascicle shortening, resulting in a velocity advantage at the level of the muscle-tendon unit (MTU) that is characterized by a gear ratio (MTU velocity/fascicle velocity). A muscle's architectural gear ratio (AGR) has been shown to vary as a function of force during shortening, while AGR during lengthening remains largely unknown. We independently measured fascicle length and MTU length in vitro in the bullfrog plantaris. We characterized the muscle's force-velocity curve and AGR during both shortening and lengthening across a broad range of forces (10-190% peak isometric force). AGR was measured during the isotonic portion of each contraction, to eliminate possible contributions of series elasticity to MTU length changes. We found that gear ratio varies with force during both shortening and lengthening contractions. The highest AGR was observed during lengthening contractions, indicating that lengthening of the MTU can occur with relatively little stretch of the fascicle. As fascicle strain is considered an important determinant of muscle damage, a high gear ratio may afford pennate muscles protection against the damaging effects of active lengthening.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.