Interactive effects of joint angle, contraction state and method on estimates of achilles tendon moment arms

Authors

Florian Fath
Anthony J. Blazevich, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Charlie M. Waugh
Stuart C. Miller
Thomas Korff

Document Type

Journal Article

Keywords

Ankle joint, Center of rotation, Moment arm, Tendon excursionAnkle joints, Center of rotation, Interactive effect, Maximum voluntary contraction, Moment arms, Muscular contraction, Musculoskeletal model, Tendon excursions, Muscle, Tendons, achilles tendon, achilles tendon moment arm, adult, ankle, article, female, human, joint angle, male, muscle contraction, musculoskeletal system parameters, normal human, Achilles Tendon, Ankle Joint, Biomechanics, Female, Humans, Male, Movement, Muscle Contraction, Muscle, Skeletal, Range of Motion, Articular, Rotation

Publisher

Human Kinetics Inc

Faculty

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School

School of Exercise and Health Sciences / Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research

RAS ID

17002

Comments

Fath, F., Blazevich, A. J., Waugh, C., Miller, S., & Korff, T. (2013). Interactive effects of joint angle, contraction state and method on estimates of achilles tendon moment arms. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 29(2), 241-244. Available here

Abstract

The muscle-tendon moment arm is an important input parameter for musculoskeletal models. Moment arms change as a function of joint angle and contraction state and depend on the method being employed. The overall purpose was to gain insights into the interactive effects of joint angle, contraction state and method on the Achilles tendon moment arm using the center of rotation (COR) and the tendon excursion method (TE). Achilles tendon moment arms were obtained at rest (TErest, CORrest) and during a maximum voluntary contraction (CORMVC) at four angles. We found strong correlations between TErest and CORMVC for all angles (.72 ≤ r ≤ .93) with Achilles tendon moment arms using CORMVC being 33-36% greater than those obtained from TErest. The relationship between Achilles tendon moment arms and angle was similar across both methods and both levels of muscular contraction. Finally, Achilles tendon moment arms for CORMVC were 1-8% greater than for CORrest.