ArticleFrontiers in physiology2026
Mechanical loading and fatigue-induced changes in triceps surae muscle-tendon unit: sex-specific responses and recovery dynamics.
Article in Frontiers in physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of a repetitive plantar flexion fatigue protocol performed to volitional exhaustion on the contractility, structure, and passive mechanical properties of the triceps surae muscle-tendon unit (MTU) in young, physically active males and females. Twenty-two participants (10 females, 12 males) underwent a fatigue protocol consisting of repetitive bilateral standing calf raises, followed by assessments conducted pre-, post-, and 24 h after exercise. The study measured muscle contractility through peak torque, muscle and tendon structure using ultrasound echo intensity (EI), and mechanical properties via passive stiffness and hysteresis efficiency. Findings indicated a significant reduction in peak torque immediately after the fatigue protocol, alongside altered neuromuscular activation, with the gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) showing reduced EMG activity and the soleus (SOL) demonstrating compensatory recruitment. Muscle contractility exhibited partial recovery after 24 h, while tendon EI decreased progressively, suggesting prolonged structural changes. MTU passive stiffness increased immediately post-fatigue but decreased after 24 h, implying transient alterations in mechanical properties. Sex-related differences in MTU responses are present but limited, and recovery following fatigue occurs at different time scales across MTU tissues.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.