Moment arms represent a muscle's ability to generate a moment about a joint for a given muscle force. The goal of this study was to develop a method to measure muscle moment arms in vivo over a large range of motion using real-time magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Rectus femoris muscle-tendon lengths and knee joint angles of healthy subjects (N = 4) were measured during dynamic knee joint flexion and extension in a large-bore magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Muscle-tendon moment arms were determined at the knee using the tendon-excursion method by differentiating measured muscle-tendon length with respect to joint angle. Rectus femoris moment arms were averaged across a group of healthy subjects and were found to vary similarly during knee joint flexion (mean: 3.0 (SD 0.5) cm, maximum: 3.5 cm) and extension (mean: 2.8 (SD 0.4) cm, maximum: 3.6 cm). These moment arms compare favorably with previously published dynamic tendon-excursion measurements in cadaveric specimens but were relatively smaller than moment arms from center-of-rotation studies. The method presented here provides a new approach to measure muscle-tendon moment arms in vivo and has the potential to be a powerful resource for characterizing musculoskeletal geometry during dynamic joint motion.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.4023523 | DOI Listing |
Bioinspir Biomim
January 2025
Southwest University of Science and Technology, No. 59, Middle Section of Qinglong Avenue, Fucheng District, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, Mianyang, Sichuan, 621010, CHINA.
The Cable-Driven Hyper-redundant Manipulator (CDHM), distinguished by its high flexibility and adjustable stiffness, is extensively utilized in confined and obstacle-rich environments such as aerospace and nuclear facilities. This paper introduces a novel CDHM inspired by the trunk of elephants, which changes the arm structure from cylindrical to conical. This alteration diminishes the arm's self-weight, reduces the moment arm of gravity, decreases the volume of the end joint, narrows the stroke of the driving cables, and boosts the maximum joint speed of the manipulator.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealthcare (Basel)
December 2024
Interlevel Clinical Management Unit of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Reina Sofía University Hospital, Córdoba and Guadalquivir Health District, 14011 Córdoba, Spain.
: Shoulder pain is a very common health issue among adults, being 8% due to calcifying tendinopathies (CT) of the shoulder. The evolutionary process of this lesion can be classified according to Bianchi Martinoli, depending on the ultrasound appearance. In 50% of cases, with first-line treatments, they resolve spontaneously.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Musculoskelet Disord
January 2025
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, 2001 Vail Ave, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Background: Hip morphology variations, particularly in femoral neck shaft angle (NSA) and iliac wing width (IWW), have been associated with gluteal tendinopathy. However, the biomechanical implications of these morphological differences on gluteal muscle function are not well understood. This study investigates how NSA and IWW influence gluteal muscle forces, moment arms, and estimated tendon loads during walking, aiming to provide insights into the potential biomechanical pathways that may contribute to altered lateral hip loading patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biomech
January 2025
Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan; Human Performance Laboratory, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.
A muscle's mechanical action is affected by its architecture. However, less is known about the architecture of muscles with broad attachments: "end-divergent" muscles. Potential regional variation of fascicle orientation in end-divergent muscles suggests that their mechanical action varies by region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSports (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA.
Shoulder and elbow injuries are prevalent among baseball players, particularly pitchers, who experience repetitive eccentric loading of the shoulder, leading to muscle damage and increased injury risk. Nearly 40% of shoulder injuries in baseball occur in pitchers, with many facing low rates of return to sport. The rotator cuff (RC) muscles-supraspinatus (SSP), infraspinatus (ISP), subscapularis (SSC), and teres minor (TMin)-are crucial for shoulder stability, movement, and force generation, particularly in overhead sports.
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