Role of the muscle belly and tendon of soleus, gastrocnemius, and plantaris in mechanical energy absorption and generation during cat locomotion

Abstract

The functional significance of tendons, and the differences in tendon properties among synergistic muscles, is not well established for normal locomotion. Previous studies have suggested that tendons may store mechanical energy during the early phase of support, and then release this energy during the late phase of support. The storage and release of mechanical energy by tendons may modify the velocity of shortening and elongation and the power produced by the muscle belly and the fibers, and may influence the metabolic cost of locomotion. The aims of this study were (1) to estimate the amount of negative and positive work done by the tendon and the muscle belly of the cat soleus (SO), gastrocnemius (GA), and plantaris (PL), and (2) to determine the relative contribution of the elastic energy stored in the tendons to the total mechanical work done by these three muscles during walking and trotting. Forces of SO, GA, and PL muscles were measured using standard force transducers in three cats walking and trotting at speeds of 0.4–1.8 m s −1 on a motor-driven treadmill. Video records and a geometrical model of the cat hindlimb were used for calculating the length of the muscle-tendon complexes of SO, GA, and PL during locomotion. Instantaneous lengths of the tendons of SO, GA, and PL during a step cycle were estimated from the stress-strain properties, the effective lengths, the cross-sectional areas, and the instantaneous forces of the tendons. Stress-strain properties for the tendons were obtained experimentally from one animal. The length of the belly was defined as the difference between the muscle-tendon complex length and the tendon length. Mechanical power of the tendon and the muscle belly was calculated as the product of the measured muscle force and the calculated rates of change in tendon and muscle belly lengths, respectively. Mechanical power and work of the tendons and bellies of SO, GA, and PL were calculated for 144 step cycles. During a step cycle, peak negative and peak positive velocities as well as peak powers of the muscle-tendon complexes of SO, GA, and PL were typically higher than those of the muscle bellies. Positive work done by the muscle-tendon complexes exceeded the positive work done by the muscle bellies. GA and PL tendons stored more mechanical energy than the SO tendon. The contributions of the elastic energy stored in the tendons to the positive work done by the muscle-tendon complexes decreased with increasing speeds of locomotion for two of the three cats studied and did not change for the third one. These contributions equaled 50-21%, 30-14%, and 25-18% for the three cats, respectively. The results of this study suggest that energy absorption and release by the tendons of cat SO, GA, and PL make up a substantial part of the total energy absorbed and generated by the corresponding muscle-tendon complexes.