Joint Moment Arms Research Articles

Specific tension of human muscle in vivo: a systematic review.

The intrinsic force production capability of human muscle can be expressed as "Specific Tension," or, the maximum force generated per cross-sectional area of muscle fibers. This value can be used to determine, for example, whether muscle quality changes during exercise, atrophy, disease, or hypertrophy. A value of 22.5 N/cm2 for mammalian muscle has generally become accepted based on detailed studies of small mammals. Determining the specific tension of human muscle is much more challenging as almost all determinations are indirect. Calculation of human muscle specific tension requires an understanding of that muscle's contribution to joint torque, its activation magnitude, tendon compliance, and joint moment arm. Determining any of these parameters is technically challenging in humans and thus, it is no surprise that human specific tension values reported vary from 2 to 73 N/cm2. In this systematic review, we screened 1,506 published papers and identified the 30 studies published between 1983 and 2023 that used appropriate methods and which reported 96 human specific tension values. We weighted each parameter based on whether it was directly measured, estimated, or calculated based on the literature, with decreasing weighting used, the more indirect the methods. Based on this exhaustive review of the relevant human literature, we suggest that the most accurate value that should be used for human muscle specific tension is 26.8 N/cm2.

Lower extremity joint angle, moment, and coordination throughout a double limb drop vertical jump in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

ABSTRACT Individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) utilise different landing biomechanics between limbs, but previous analyses have not considered the continuous or simultaneous joint motion that occurs during landing and propulsion. The purpose of this study was to compare sagittal plane ankle/knee and knee/hip coordination patterns as well as ankle, knee, and hip angles and moments and vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) between the ACLR and uninjured limbs during landing and propulsion. Fifteen females and thirteen males performed a drop vertical jump from a 30 cm box placed half their height from force platforms. Coordination was compared using a modified vector coding technique and binning analysis. Kinematics and kinetics were time normalised for waveform analyses. Coordination was not different between limbs. The ACLR limb had smaller dorsiflexion angles from 11 to 16% of landing and 24 to 75% of landing and propulsion, knee flexion moments from 5 to 15% of landing, 20 to 31% of landing, and 35 to 91% of landing and propulsion, and vGRF from 92 to 94% of propulsion compared with the uninjured limb. The ACLR limb exhibited smaller dorsiflexion angles to potentially reduce the knee joint moment arm and mitigate the eccentric and concentric demands on the ACLR knee during landing and propulsion, respectively.

Free-oscillation technique: The effect of the magnitude of the impulse applied on muscle and tendon stiffness around the ankle.

The importance of the muscle-tendon complex in sport and for activities of everyday living is well recognised. The free oscillation technique is frequently used to determine the musculo-articular "apparent" stiffness (obtained from vertical ground reaction force) and other parameters. However, an in-depth understanding of the muscle-tendon complex can be gained by separating the muscle (soleus) and the tendon (Achilles tendon) components and studying the "true" stiffness for each of these components (by considering the ankle joint moment arms), which can be valuable in improving our understanding of training, injury prevention, and recovery programs. Hence, this study aimed to investigate if muscle and tendon stiffness (i.e., "true" stiffness) are similarly affected by different impulse magnitudes when using the free-oscillation technique. Three impulse magnitudes (impulse 1, 2 and 3), corresponding to peak forces of 100, 150 and 200 N, were used to estimate the stiffness of the ankle joint in 27 males, using multiple loads (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 kg). A significant decrease (p < 0.0005) was found in musculo-articular "apparent" stiffness (29224 ± 5087 N.m-1; 27839 ± 4914 N.m-1; 26835 ± 4880 N.m-1) between impulses 1, 2 and 3 respectively, when loads were collapsed across groups. However, significant differences (p < 0.001) were only found between the median (Mdn) of impulse 1 (Mdn = 564.31 (kN/m)/kN) and 2 (Mdn = 468.88 (kN/m)/kN) and between impulse 1 (Mdn = 564.31 (kN/m)/kN) and 3 (Mdn = 422.19 (kN/m)/kN), for "true" muscle stiffness, but not for "true" tendon stiffness (Mdn = 197.35 kN/m; Mdn = 210.26 kN/m; Mdn = 201.60 kN/m). The results suggest that the musculo-articular "apparent" stiffness around the ankle joint is influenced by the magnitude of the impulse applied. Interestingly, this is driven by muscle stiffness, whereas tendon stiffness appears to be unaffected.

Unanticipated fake-and-cut maneuvers do not increase knee abduction moments in sport-specific tasks: Implication for ACL injury prevention and risk screening.

Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries typically occur during cutting maneuvers and are associated with high peak knee abduction moments (KAM) within early stance. To screen athletes for injury risk or quantify the efficacy of prevention programs, it may be necessary to design tasks that mimic game situations. Thus, this study compared KAMs and ranking consistency of female handball players in three sport-specific fake-and-cut tasks of increasing complexity. The biomechanics of female handball players (n = 51, mean ± SD: 66.9 ± 7.8 kg, 1.74 ± 0.06 m, 19.2 ± 3.4 years) were recorded with a 3D motion capture system and force plates during three standardized fake-and-cut tasks. Task 1 was designed as a simple pre-planned cut, task 2 included catching a ball before a pre-planned cut in front of a static defender, and task 3 was designed as an unanticipated cut with three dynamic defenders involved. Inverse dynamics were used to calculate peak KAM within the first 100 ms of stance. KAM was decomposed into the frontal plane knee joint moment arm and resultant ground reaction force. RANOVAs (α ≤ 0.05) were used to reveal differences in the KAM magnitudes, moment arm, and resultant ground reaction force for the three tasks. Spearman's rank correlations were calculated to test the ranking consistency of the athletes' KAMs. There was a significant task main effect on KAM (p = 0.02; = 0.13). The KAM in the two complex tasks was significantly higher (task 2: 1.73 Nm/kg; task 3: 1.64 Nm/kg) than the KAM in the simplest task (task 1: 1.52 Nm/kg). The ranking of the peak KAM was consistent regardless of the task complexity. Comparing tasks 1 and 2, an increase in KAM resulted from an increased frontal plane moment arm. Comparing tasks 1 and 3, higher KAM in task 3 resulted from an interplay between both moment arm and the resultant ground reaction force. In contrast to previous studies, unanticipated cutting maneuvers did not produce the highest KAMs. These findings indicate that the players have developed an automated sport-specific cutting technique that is utilized in both pre-planned and unanticipated fake-and-cut tasks.

Effects of Weight-Bearing on Tibiofemoral, Patellofemoral, and Patellar Tendon Kinematics in Older Adults.

Quantification of natural knee kinematics is essential for the assessment of joint function in the diagnosis of pathologies. Combined measurements of tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint kinematics are necessary because knee pathologies, such as progression of osteoarthritis and patellar instability, are a frequent concern in both articulations. Combined measurement of tibiofemoral and patellofemoral kinematics also enables calculation of important quantities, specifically patellar tendon angle, which partly determines the loading vector at the tibiofemoral joint and patellar tendon moment arm. The goals of this research were to measure the differences in tibiofemoral and patellofemoral kinematics, patellar tendon angle (PTA), and patellar tendon moment arm (PTMA) that occur during non-weight-bearing and weight-bearing activities in older adults. Methods: High-speed stereo radiography was used to measure the kinematics of the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joints in subjects as they performed seated, non-weight-bearing knee extension and two weight-bearing activities: lunge and chair rise. PTA and PTMA were extracted from the subject’s patellofemoral and tibiofemoral kinematics. Kinematics and the root mean square difference (RMSD) between non-weight-bearing and weight-bearing activities were compared across subjects and activities. Results: Internal rotation increased with weight-bearing (mean RMSD from knee extension was 4.2 ± 2.4° for lunge and 3.6 ± 1.8° for chair rise), and anterior translation was also greater (mean RMSD from knee extension was 2.2 ± 1.2 mm for lunge and 2.3 ± 1.4 mm for chair rise). Patellar tilt and medial–lateral translation changed from non-weight-bearing to weight-bearing. Changes of the patellar tendon from non-weight-bearing to weight-bearing were significant only for PTMA. Conclusions: While weight-bearing elicited changes in knee kinematics, in most degrees of freedoms, these differences were exceeded by intersubject differences. These results provide comparative kinematics for the evaluation of knee pathology and treatment in older adults.

Understanding Bench Press Biomechanics-Training Expertise and Sex Affect Lifting Technique and Net Joint Moments.

Mausehund, L and Krosshaug, T. Understanding bench press biomechanics-Training expertise and sex affect lifting technique and net joint moments. J Strength Cond Res 37(1): 9-17, 2023-The purpose of this study was to compare normalized net joint moments (NJMs), moment arms, and muscle activity in the bench press exercise between powerlifters and recreationally strength-trained lifters and between women and men. Thirty-four healthy adults, including 12 powerlifters (6 women and 6 men) and 22 recreational lifters (9 women and 13 men), performed a 6-8 repetition maximum set of the bench press, while elbow and shoulder NJMs and moment arms and electromyographic (EMG) activity of 6 upper extremity muscles were recorded. The results showed that training expertise and sex affected bench press technique substantially. Powerlifters applied a different bar path which impacted joint kinematics to a greater extent and joint kinetics to a lesser extent. Specifically, powerlifters had lower normalized peak elbow NJMs and shorter joint ROMs than recreational lifters ( p ≤ 0.05), yet no differences in normalized shoulder NJMs and muscle activity were observed. Women showed lower normalized mean shoulder NJMs, higher normalized peak elbow NJMs, and higher mean elbow to shoulder NJM ratios than men ( p ≤ 0.05). The muscle activity of the long head of the triceps brachii and the elbow to shoulder EMG ratio were higher, yet muscle activity of the sternocostal and abdominal head of the pectoralis major was lower for female than for male subjects ( p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, powerlifters and men are more shoulder dominant when performing the bench press than recreational lifters and women, respectively. These findings will have implications for resistance training program design, expected training adaptations and bench press performance.

Association between patellar tendon moment arm and running performance in endurance runners.

A shorter joint moment arm (MA) may help maintain the necessary muscle force when muscle contractions are repeated. This beneficial effect may contribute to reducing the energy cost during running. In this study, we examined the correlation between patellar tendon MA and running performance in endurance runners. The patellar tendon MA and quadriceps femoris muscle volume (MV) in 42 male endurance runners and 14 body size‐matched male untrained participants were measured using a 1.5‐T magnetic resonance system. The patellar tendon MA was significantly shorter in endurance runners than in untrained participants (p = 0.034, d = 0.65). In endurance runners, shorter patellar tendon MA correlated significantly with better personal best 5000‐m race rime (r = 0.322, p = 0.034). A trend toward such a significant correlation was obtained between quadriceps femoris MV and personal best 5000‐m race time (r = 0.303, p = 0.051). Although the correlation between patellar tendon MA and personal best 5000‐m race time did not remain significant after adjusting for the quadriceps femoris MV (partial r = 0.247, p = 0.120), a stepwise multiple regression analysis (conducted with body height, body mass, patellar tendon MA, and quadriceps femoris MV) selected the patellar tendon MA (β = 0.322) as only a predictive variable for the personal best 5000‐m race time (adjusted R 2 = 0.081, p = 0.038). These findings suggest that the shorter patellar tendon MA, partially accorded with the smaller quadriceps femoris size, may be a favorable morphological variable for better running performance in endurance runners.

A fair and EMG-validated comparison of recruitment criteria, musculotendon models and muscle coordination strategies, for the inverse-dynamics based optimization of muscle forces during gait

Experimental studies and EMG collections suggest that a specific strategy of muscle coordination is chosen by the central nervous system to perform a given motor task. A popular mathematical approach for solving the muscle recruitment problem is optimization. Optimization-based methods minimize or maximize some criterion (objective function or cost function) which reflects the mechanism used by the central nervous system to recruit muscles for the movement considered. The proper cost function is not known a priori, so the adequacy of the chosen function must be validated according to the obtained results. In addition of the many criteria proposed, several physiological representations of the musculotendon actuator dynamics (that prescribe constraints for the forces) along with different musculoskeletal models can be found in the literature, which hinders the selection of the best neuromusculotendon model for each application. Seeking to provide a fair base for comparison, this study measures the efficiency and accuracy of: (i) four different criteria within the static optimization approach (where the physiological character of the muscle, which affects the constraints of the forces, is not considered); (ii) three physiological representations of the musculotendon actuator dynamics: activation dynamics with elastic tendon, simplified activation dynamics with rigid tendon and rigid tendon without activation dynamics; (iii) a synergy-based method; all of them within the framework of inverse-dynamics based optimization. Motion/force/EMG gait analyses were performed on ten healthy subjects. A musculoskeletal model of the right leg actuated by 43 Hill-type muscles was scaled to each subject and used to calculate joint moments, musculotendon kinematics and moment arms. Muscle activations were then estimated using the different approaches, and these estimates were compared with EMG measurements. Although no significant differences were obtained with all the methods at statistical level, it must be pointed out that a higher complexity of the method does not guarantee better results, as the best correlations with experimental values were obtained with two simplified approaches: the static optimization and the physiological approach with simplified activation dynamics and rigid tendon, both using the sum of the squares of muscle forces as objective function.

A Biomechanical Analysis of Wide, Medium, and Narrow Grip Width Effects on Kinematics, Horizontal Kinetics, and Muscle Activity on the Sticking Region in Recreationally Trained Males During 1-RM Bench Pressing.

Grip width has been found to affect lifting performance, especially around the sticking region; however, little is known about the kinetics and muscle activities that could explain these differences in performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of grip width on the joint, barbell kinematics, and horizontal kinetics, analyzed in tandem with the effects of muscle activation around the sticking region in the one repetition maximum (1-RM) barbell bench press. Fourteen healthy bench press-trained males (body mass: 87.8 ± 18.4, age: 25 ± 5.4) performed 1-RM with a small, medium, and wide grip width. The participants bench pressed 109.8 ± 24.5 kg, 108.9 ± 26.4 kg, and 103.7 ± 24 kg with the wide, medium, and narrow grip widths. Furthermore, the wide grip width produced 13.1–15.7% lateral forces, while the medium and narrow grip widths produced 0.4–1.8 and 8.5–10.1% medially directed forces of the vertical force produced during the sticking region, respectively. Horizontal forces did not increase during the sticking region, and the resultant forces decreased during the sticking region for all grip widths. The wide and medium grip widths produced greater horizontal shoulder moments than the narrow grip width during the sticking region. Hence, the wide and medium grip widths produced similar shoulder and elbow joint moments and moment arm at the first located lowest barbell velocity. Furthermore, triceps medialis muscle activity was greater for the medium and narrow grip widths than the wide grip width. This study suggests that the sticking region for the wide and medium grip widths may be specific to the horizontal elbow and shoulder joint moments created during this region. Therefore, when the goal is to lift as much as possible during 1-RM bench press attempts among recreationally trained males, our findings suggest that bench pressing with a wide or medium grip width may be beneficial.

Vertical and horizontal barbell kinematics indicate differences in mechanical advantage between using an arched or flat back posture in the barbell bench press exercise

Employing an arched back posture during the bench press exercise is increasingly popular. Vertical displacement of the barbell is commonly believed to be the key difference influencing strength performance between an arched and flat back bench press technique. However, comparisons between these back postures using a free weight barbell are lacking. Directly comparing performance between each posture is confounded by many variables such as proficiency and fatigue. This investigation aimed to investigate whether changing back posture alone can influence barbell kinematics, to indirectly assess potential performance differences. Twenty males performed one repetition of the bench press exercise using either an arched or flat back posture, at 25%, 50% and 75% of their one repetition maximum, in a repeated measures study design. Statistical significance was considered at p &lt; 0.05. Changing back posture alone, reduced vertical displacement (approximately 11% average difference across all load conditions) and barbell to glenohumeral joint moment arm (approximately 20% difference) in the arched posture compared to the flat posture. These changes occurred without any specific cueing of the barbell motion and may increase the potential for lifting higher loads and decrease cumulative joint exposure. Additional cueing and training may be required to maximize the mechanical advantage available with each back posture. The arched posture appears to have an increased potential for further improvements in vertical displacement and moment arm through specific cueing. Future comparisons should consider if each back posture’s potential mechanical advantage has been maximized when assessing differences between techniques.

Biocultural evidence of precise manual activities in an Early Holocene individual of the high-altitude Peruvian Andes.

Cuncaicha, a rockshelter site in the southern Peruvian Andes, has yielded archaeological evidence for human occupation at high elevation (4,480 masl) during the Terminal Pleistocene (12,500-11,200 cal BP), Early Holocene (9,500-9,000 cal BP), and later periods. One of the excavated human burials (Feature 15-06), corresponding to a middle-aged female dated to ~8,500 cal BP, exhibits skeletal osteoarthritic lesions previously proposed to reflect habitual loading and specialized crafting labor. Three small tools found in association with this burial are hypothesized to be associated with precise manual dexterity. Here, we tested this functional hypothesis through the application of a novel multivariate methodology for the three-dimensional analysis of muscle attachment surfaces (entheses). This original approach has been recently validated on both lifelong-documented anthropological samples as well as experimental studies in nonhuman laboratory samples. Additionally, we analyzed the three-dimensional entheseal shape and resulting moment arms for muscle opponens pollicis. Results show that Cuncaicha individual 15-06 shows a distinctive entheseal pattern associated with habitual precision grasping via thumb-index finger coordination, which is shared exclusively with documented long-term precision workers from recent historical collections. The separate geometric morphometric analysis revealed that the individual's opponens pollicis enthesis presents a highly projecting morphology, which was found to strongly correlate with long joint moment arms (a fundamental component of force-producing capacity), closely resembling the form of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers from diverse geo-chronological contexts of Eurasia and North Africa. Overall, our findings provide the first biocultural evidence to confirm that the lifestyle of some of the earliest Andean inhabitants relied on habitual and forceful precision grasping tasks.

Impact of moment arm on torque production of the knee extensors in children.

The joint moment arm (MA) dimension is related to joint torque in adults. However, this relationship remains unexplored in children. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between MA and joint torque of the knee extensors in this young population. The quadriceps femoris muscle volume (MV) and knee extensor MA in 20 preadolescent boys (age: 10.7 ± 0.9 years) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. The knee extensor isometric and isokinetic torques were measured using a dynamometer. The isokinetic torque measurements were performed using slow and fast angular velocities at 60°/s and 180°/s respectively. The knee extensor torque‐producing capacities were assessed as the knee extensor isometric or isokinetic torque per the quadriceps femoris MV. The quadriceps femoris MV correlated significantly with all three knee extensor isometric and isokinetic torques (r = 0.513–0.804, p < .05 for all). The knee extensor MA also correlated significantly with the three knee extensor isometric and isokinetic torques (r = 0.701–0.806, p ≤ .001 for all). Furthermore, the knee extensor MA correlated significantly with all three knee extensor torque‐producing capacities (r = 0.488–0.701, p < .05 for all). These findings suggest that in addition to adults, greater MA plays an important role in achieving higher joint torque production of the knee extensors in preadolescent boys. This study is the first to determine the impact of MA dimension on joint torque production in children.

Do Muscle Synergies Improve Optimization Prediction of Muscle Activations During Gait?

Determination of muscle forces during motion can help to understand motor control, assess pathological movement, diagnose neuromuscular disorders, or estimate joint loads. Difficulty of in vivo measurement made computational analysis become a common alternative in which, as several muscles serve each degree of freedom, the muscle redundancy problem must be solved. Unlike static optimization (SO), synergy optimization (SynO) couples muscle activations across all time frames, thereby altering estimated muscle co-contraction. This study explores whether the use of a muscle synergy structure within an SO framework improves prediction of muscle activations during walking. A motion/force/electromyography (EMG) gait analysis was performed on five healthy subjects. A musculoskeletal model of the right leg actuated by 43 Hill-type muscles was scaled to each subject and used to calculate joint moments, muscle–tendon kinematics, and moment arms. Muscle activations were then estimated using SynO with two to six synergies and traditional SO, and these estimates were compared with EMG measurements. Synergy optimization neither improved SO prediction of experimental activation patterns nor provided SO exact matching of joint moments. Finally, synergy analysis was performed on SO estimated activations, being found that the reconstructed activations produced poor matching of experimental activations and joint moments. As conclusion, it can be said that, although SynO did not improve prediction of muscle activations during gait, its reduced dimensional control space could be beneficial for applications such as functional electrical stimulation or motion control and prediction.

COMPARISON OF ANKLE JOINT LOAD IN DIFFERENT FOOT STRIKE STRATEGIES DURING STAIR ASCENT

The purpose of this study was to find a foot strike strategy that can reduce the ankle joint load during stair ascent by comparing the ankle joint load in two strategies of initial contact during stair ascent. Twenty young subjects performed ascending stairs with two strategies, i.e., rearfoot strike (RFS) and forefoot strike (FFS). Kinematic data was measured from 12 cameras and the ground reaction force was measured by a force plate inserted in the second step of four-step stairs. Stance phase was divided into three phase, i.e., weight acceptance, pull up, and forward continuance. Four ankle related kinetic variables were derived from the measured data, i.e., joint reaction force, moment, and the magnitude and moment arm of ground reaction force. Root-mean-square (RMS) was used as the representative value of the variables during each phase was compared between strategies. In the weight acceptance phase, FFS resulted in greater values of all four kinetic variables than RFS. For the pull-up and forward continuance phases, joint reaction force and ground reaction force were not different between strategies but joint moment and moment arm was greater for FFS than RFS. In weight acceptance phase, greater ground reaction forces and longer moment arm of FFS may have resulted from faster weight transfer to the ipsilateral foot and the more anterior location of center of pressure, respectively. Both have contributed greater joint moment of FFS. In pull-up and forward continuance phases, greater ankle moment of FFS was affected mainly by longer moment arms, which may reflect the persistent farther location of center of pressure from the ankle joint. The results suggest that RFS would be more advantageous than FFS in terms of ankle joint load.

The effects of both jump/land phases and direction on Achilles tendon loading.

Athletes in jumping and running sports have a high incidence of Achilles tendon (AT) injuries. We compared AT loading during jumping and landing phases in anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions. Sixteen males (age: 21.6±1.8 years, height: 178.4±6.4 cm, weight: 76.4±11.2 kg) performed single leg AP and ML jump-landings during both propulsive (jump) and braking (land) phases. Inverse dynamics and static optimization were used to determine muscle forces. AT cross sectional area was measured with ultrasound. AT force was divided by cross sectional area to determine stress while strain was determined from previous data. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (α=0.05) compared several variables (vertical ground reaction force (VGRF), ankle and knee angle, ankle joint muscle moment arm, external ankle moment arm, AT tendon force, stress, and strain) between movements (jump-landings) and directions (AP/ML). AT loading was higher during jump than land in the ML compared to AP direction. VGRF was higher during land versus jump with no direction effect (AP/ML). An interaction showed a higher VGRF during the AP land and ML jump. The ankle joint moment arm was lower in jump and AP direction at peak tendon stress. External ankle moment arm at peak tendon stress was higher in jump and ML direction with an interaction. A larger external ankle moment arm occurred in ML but the change was less in the jump. Higher tendon loading occurred during the jump and ML direction. This may provide insight into both injuries and rehabilitation efforts.

Functional capacity of kangaroo rat hindlimbs: adaptations for locomotor performance.

Many cursorial and large hopping species are extremely efficient locomotors with various morphological adaptations believed to reduce mechanical demand and improve movement efficiency, including elongated distal limb segments. However, despite having elongated limbs, small hoppers such as desert kangaroo rats (Dipodomys deserti) are less efficient locomotors than their larger counterparts, which may be in part due to avoiding predators through explosive jumping movements. Despite potentially conflicting mechanical demands between the two movements, kangaroo rats are both excellent jumpers and attain high hopping speeds, likely due to a specialized hindlimb musculoskeletal morphology. This study combined experimental dissection data with a static analysis of muscle moment generating capacities using a newly developed musculoskeletal model to characterize kangaroo rat hindlimb musculoskeletal architecture and investigate how morphology has evolved to meet hopping and jumping mechanical demands. Hindlimb morphology appears biased towards generating constant moment arms over large joint ranges of motion in this species, which may balance competing requirements by reducing the need for posture and movement specific excitation patterns. The ankle extensors are a major exception to the strong positive relationship exhibited by most muscles between muscle architecture parameters (e.g. Lfibre) and joint moment arms. These muscles appear suited to meeting the high moments required for jumping: the biarticular nature of the ankle extensors is leveraged to reduce MTU strain and create a four-bar linkage that facilitates proximal force transfer. The kangaroo rat hindlimb provides an interesting case study for understanding how morphology balances the sometimes competing demands of hopping and jumping.

Actions of the Biceps Brachii at the Shoulder: A Review

Bi-articular muscles cross more than one joint and contribute to motion at both joints, and the extremities of the human body contain several such muscles. Actions produced by all muscles are determined, to a large extent, by joint moment arms and muscle length. These are transient factors which change as joint angles are altered. Measuring muscle moments while manipulating both joints will produce a better understanding of the actions of bi-articular muscles. This review summarizes investigations which have explored the actions of the biceps brachii as shoulder and elbow joints are moved into various angle combinations. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Percutaneus repair of Achilles tendon rupture under direct ultrasound surveillance

Tendon lengthening and transfer are usually indicated for certain neuromuscular disorders, peripheral or central nerve injury, congenital disorder or direct traumatic or degenerative musculotendinous lesion. In musculotendinous lengthening, technique depends on muscle anatomy, degree of correction required, and the need to avoid excessive loss of force. Lengthening within the muscle or aponeurosis is stable. In the tendon, however, it may provide greater gain but is not stable and requires postoperative immobilization to avoid excessive lengthening. Tendon transfer consists in displacing a muscle's tendon insertion in order to restore function. The muscle to be transferred is chosen according to strength, architecture and course, contraction timing, intended direction, synergy and the joint moment arm to be restored. Functions to be restored have to be prioritized, and alternatives to transfer should be identified. The principles of tendon transfer require preoperative assessment of the quality of the tissue through which the transfer is to pass and of the suppleness of the joints concerned. During the procedure, transfer tension should be optimized and the neurovascular bundle should be protected. The method of fixation, whether tendon-to-bone or tendon-to-tendon suture, should be planned according to local conditions and the surgeon's experience.

Actions of Two Bi-Articular Muscles of the Lower Extremity: A Review.

The extremities of the human body contain several bi-articular muscles. The actions produced by muscles at the joints they cross are greatly influenced by joint moment arms and muscle length. These factors are dynamic and subject to change as joint angles are altered. Therefore, to more completely understand the actions of such muscles, the angles of both joints must be manipulated. This report reviews investigations, which have explored the actions of two bi-articular muscles of the lower extremities (gastrocnemius and rectus femoris) as the joints they cross are moved into various combinations of angles. The findings have both clinical and physical performance ramifications.

Pinch-force-magnification mechanism of low degree of freedom EMG prosthetic hand for children.

EMG prosthetic hands are being extensively studied for the disabled who need them not only for cosmesis but also for the functions to help them with basic daily activities. However, most EMG prosthetic hands are developed for adults. Since the early use of prosthetic hands is important for the children to accept and adapt to them, we are developing low degrees of freedom (DoF) prosthetic hand that is suitable for children. Due to the limited size of a child's hand, the servo motor which drives the MP joint are small-sized and low-power. Hence, a pinch-force-magnification mechanism is required to improve the pinch force of the EMG prosthetic hand. In this paper we designed a wire-driven mechanism which can magnify pinch force by increasing the length of the MP joint's moment arm. Pinch force measurement experiment validated that the pinch force of the prosthetic hand with the mechanism is more than twice of that of the hand with direct drive.