Institute of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, Graz University, Graz, Austria.
Associate Professorship of Biomechanics in Sports, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
J Sports Sci Med. 2023 Mar 1;22(1):28-35. doi: 10.52082/jssm.2023.28. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Studies have reported that a stiff triceps surae muscle and tendon-aponeurosis and also a more compliant quadriceps muscle and tendon-aponeurosis, are related to lower oxygen cost during running. However, to date, no study has investigated in a single experiment how oxygen cost during running is related to the stiffness of the free tendons (Achilles tendon, patellar tendon) and all the superficial muscles of two major muscle groups for running (i.e., quadriceps, triceps surae). Thus, 17 male trained runners/triathletes participated in this study and visited the laboratory on three occasions. On the first day, the participants were familiarized with the tests. On the second day, the passive compression stiffness of the triceps surae muscle (i.e., gastrocnemii), Achilles tendon, quadriceps muscle (i.e., vastii, rectus femoris), and patellar tendon was non-invasively measured using a digital palpation device (MyotonPRO). In addition, an incremental test was applied to test the VOmax of the participants. Thereafter, in the third visit, after at least 48-h of rest, participants performed a 15-min run on the treadmill with a speed reflecting a velocity of 70% VOmax, to assess oxygen costs during running. The Spearman correlation showed a significant negative correlation between passive Achilles tendon compression stiffness and running oxygen consumption, with a large effect size (rρ = -0.52; CI (95%) -0.81 to -0.33; P = 0.03). Moreover, no further significant relationship between oxygen cost during running and the passive compression stiffness of the quadriceps muscle and patellar tendon, as well as the triceps surae muscle, was detected. The significant correlation indicates that a stiffer passive Achilles tendon can lead to a lower oxygen cost during running. Future studies will have to test the causality of this relationship with training methods such as strength training that are able to increase the Achilles tendon stiffness.
研究表明，跟腱和跟腱周围组织紧张、股四头肌和股四头肌周围组织柔顺与跑步时较低的耗氧量有关。然而，到目前为止，还没有研究在单一实验中探讨跑步时的耗氧量与自由肌腱（跟腱、髌腱）和两个主要跑步肌群（股四头肌、小腿三头肌）的所有浅表肌肉的僵硬程度之间的关系。因此，17 名训练有素的跑步者/三项全能运动员参加了这项研究，并在三次访问中访问了实验室。第一天，参与者熟悉了测试。第二天，使用数字触诊设备（MyotonPRO）无创测量了小腿三头肌（腓肠肌）、跟腱、股四头肌（股直肌、股外侧肌）和髌腱的被动压缩僵硬度。此外，还进行了递增测试以测试参与者的 VOmax。此后，在第三次访问中，参与者在至少 48 小时的休息后，在跑步机上以 70% VOmax 的速度进行了 15 分钟的跑步，以评估跑步时的耗氧量。Spearman 相关性分析显示，被动跟腱压缩僵硬度与跑步耗氧量呈显著负相关，具有较大的效应量（rρ=-0.52；CI（95%）-0.81 至-0.33；P=0.03）。此外，在跑步时的耗氧量与股四头肌和髌腱以及小腿三头肌的被动压缩僵硬度之间没有进一步的显著关系。这一显著相关性表明，更僵硬的被动跟腱可以降低跑步时的耗氧量。未来的研究将不得不通过诸如力量训练等能够增加跟腱僵硬度的训练方法来测试这种关系的因果关系。
