Publications by authors named "Michal Struska"
Objectives: Long lower limbs relative to body size are thought to be an adaptation to prevent excessive increases in body temperature during running in hot climate. The advantage of long lower limbs relative to body size is usually explained by an increase in body surface area relative to mass; however, the influence of limb length on relative body surface area was shown to be minor. We aimed to experimentally test the effect of relative lower-limb length (LLL) on body temperature changes during running.
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- The study investigates the impact of crouched walking on muscle activity and kinematics by analyzing the relationship between postural height and muscle activation in adult males while walking in different crouched positions.
- Results show increased muscle activation and flexion angles at lower postural heights, especially in thigh and gluteal muscles, which may suggest benefits for hunters using a crouched approach.
- The findings imply that shorter stature could enhance effectiveness in hunting strategies, and the muscle activation patterns observed could help researchers understand crouched walking in historical human populations.
It has been proposed that humans' exceptional locomotor endurance evolved partly with foraging in hot open habitats and subsequently about 2 million years ago with persistence hunting, for which endurance running was instrumental. However, persistence hunting by walking, if successful, could select for locomotor endurance even before the emergence of any running-related traits in human evolution. Using a heat exchange model validated here in 73 humans and 55 ungulates, we simulated persistence hunts for prey of three sizes (100, 250, and 400 kg) and three sweating capacities (nonsweating, low, high) at 6237 combinations of hunter's velocity (1-5 m s, intermittent), air temperature (25-45 °C), relative humidity (30-90%), and start time (8:00-16:00).
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- Experimental grinding studies aimed at understanding ancient female agricultural practices often question the relevance of using nonathletic females compared to early agricultural women.
- Research involved recording muscle activity from eight upper limb muscles in both athletic rowers and nonathletic females, revealing that while athletes showed lower muscle activation overall, the differences were mostly insignificant.
- Findings indicated that muscle loading is less during saddle quern grinding versus rotary quern grinding, suggesting that fewer muscles may suffice for understanding stress on the upper limb during these activities, challenging previous assumptions about skeletal markers for specific grinding methods.