Morphomechanical alterations in the medial gastrocnemius muscle in patients with a repaired Achilles tendon: Associations with outcome measures.

Background: Functional deficits are found in ankles that have sustained an Achilles rupture. This study sought to evaluate and compare the morphomechanical characteristics of the medial gastrocnemius muscle in the legs of participants within six months of a unilateral Achilles repair to determine any correlations between those characteristics and objective outcomes and self-reported functional levels.

Methods: Fifteen participants were assessed via measurements of muscle morphologies (fascicle length, pennation angle, and muscle thickness) in a resting state, the mechanical properties of the proximal aponeurosis of the medial gastrocnemius muscle, the pennation angle during ramping maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC), the heel raise test, and the Taiwan Chinese version of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS-TC) questionnaire.

Neuromechanical characteristics in the knees of patients who had primary conservative treatment for a torn cruciate ligament and reconstruction afterward.

Background/purpose: To compare the neuromechanical characteristics and subjective outcomes for knees of patients with a cruciate ligament tear and reconstruction with those for knees of controls at three time intervals, and to determine correlations between the characteristics and subjective outcomes.

Methods: Ten participants with a cruciate ligament tear and at least a 12-week conservative treatment prior to ligament reconstruction were prospectively measured prior to and 3 months and 6 months after surgery. Ten healthy individuals were recruited as controls.

Effect of a combination of whole-body vibration and low resistance jump training on neural adaptation.

This study investigated and compared the effects of an eight-week program of whole body vibration combined with counter-movement jumping (WBV + CMJ) or counter-movement jumping (CMJ) alone on players. Twenty-four men's volleyball players of league A or B were randomized to the WBV + CMJ or CMJ groups (n = 12 and 12; mean [SD] age of 21.4 [2.

Comparative and reliability studies of neuromechanical leg muscle performances of volleyball athletes in different divisions.

This study compared neural profiles of the leg muscles of volleyball athletes playing in different divisions of Taiwan's national league to analyse the reliability and correlations between their profiles and biomechanical performances. Twenty-nine athletes including 12 and 17 from the first and second divisions of the league, respectively, were recruited. The outcome measures were compared between the divisions, including soleus H-reflex, first volitional (V) wave, normalised rate of electromyography (EMG) rise (RER) in the triceps surae muscles, and RER ratio for the tibialis anterior and soleus muscles, normalised root mean square (RMS) EMG in the triceps surae muscles, antagonist co-activation of the tibialis anterior muscle, rate of force development (RFD), and maximal plantar flexion torque and jump height.