ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2025
Mechanical asymmetries in gastrocnemius stiffness: shear-wave elastography insights into the biomechanics and injury susceptibility of calf muscle strain injuries.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Changes in the mechanical properties and pressure pain thresholds of muscles in patients with fibromyalgia and their relationship with clinical parameters: a case-control study.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Imaging in the diagnosis and characterization of tennis leg.Skeletal radiology · 2026Review
- Real-time shear wave elastography and high-frequency ultrasound in the assessment of treatment outcomes for triceps surae muscle injury.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
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10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
background"Tennis leg" injuries originate predominantly at the medial gastrocnemius (MG) musculotendinous junction (MTJ). Whether posture-dependent mechanical asymmetries between the MG and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) explain this susceptibility remains unclear. To quantify posture-specific stiffness of gastrocnemius muscle and MTJ with shear-wave elastography (SWE) and to identify mechanical signatures that may predispose the MG to strain.
methodsUltrasound data were obtained from 22 calves, resulting in 44 samples, across three ankle positions: neutral, 15° plantarflexion, and 15° dorsiflexion, with the knee in an extended position. Young's modulus was sampled at the muscle belly, the MTJ, and proximal 1 cm and distal 1 cm on both side; each value represented the mean of three trials. Independent t-tests were employed to assess side-to-side differences, while one-way ANOVA (Bonferroni-adjusted, α = 0.05) was utilized to evaluate posture effects.
resultsAcross neutral postures, the MG was stiffer than the LG at the muscle belly (P < 0.05), MTJ (P < 0.001), and at the distal 1 cm of MTJ. Dorsiflexion induced the highest stiffness values on both sides, with the MG demonstrating significantly greater stiffness than the LG (P < 0.05). Notably, despite its higher baseline stiffness, the MG showed a smaller contraction-induced percentage increase in stiffness compared to the LG at the MTJ in both plantarflexion (P < 0.05) and dorsiflexion (P < 0.05), indicating a high-stiffness/low-compliance (HNC) profile.
conclusionDorsiflexion markedly increases the stiffness of the MG while decreasing its proportion to enhance stiffness during contraction. This HNC behavior emphasizes stress at the in tennis-leg ruptures. SWE-derived HNC measurements may assist in identifying at-risk athletes and customizing preventive measures.
trial registrationClinical trial number: not applicable.
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