Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
J Exp Biol
2014 Dec 15;217Pt 24:4365-71. doi: 10.1242/jeb.112813.
Show Gene links
Show Anatomy links
The energetic benefits of tendon springs in running: is the reduction of muscle work important?
Holt NC
,
Roberts TJ
,
Askew GN
.
???displayArticle.abstract???
The distalmuscle-tendon units of cursorial species are commonly composed of short muscle fibres and long, compliant tendons. It is assumed that the ability of these tendons to store and return mechanical energy over the course of a stride, thus avoiding the cyclic absorption and regeneration of mechanical energy by active muscle, offers some metabolic energy savings during running. However, this assumption has not been tested directly. We used muscle ergometry and myothermic measurements to determine the cost of force production in muscles acting isometrically, as they could if mechanical energy was stored and returned by tendon, and undergoing active stretch-shorten cycles, as they would if mechanical energy was absorbed and regenerated by muscle. We found no detectable difference in the cost of force production in isometric cycles compared with stretch-shorten cycles. This result suggests that replacing muscle stretch-shorten work with tendon elastic energy storage and recovery does not reduce the cost of force production. This calls into question the assumption that reduction of muscle work drove the evolution of long distal tendons. We propose that the energetic benefits of tendons are derived primarily from their effect on muscle and limb architecture rather than their ability to reduce the cyclic work of muscle.
Ahn,
In vivo and in vitro heterogeneity of segment length changes in the semimembranosus muscle of the toad.
2003, Pubmed
Ahn,
In vivo and in vitro heterogeneity of segment length changes in the semimembranosus muscle of the toad.
2003,
Pubmed
Alexander,
Tendon elasticity and muscle function.
2002,
Pubmed
Alexander,
Storage of elastic strain energy in muscle and other tissues.
1977,
Pubmed
Barclay,
Energetics of fast- and slow-twitch muscles of the mouse.
1993,
Pubmed
Barclay,
Slow skeletal muscles of the mouse have greater initial efficiency than fast muscles but the same net efficiency.
2004,
Pubmed
Beltman,
Metabolic cost of lengthening, isometric and shortening contractions in maximally stimulated rat skeletal muscle.
2004,
Pubmed
Biewener,
In vivo muscle force-length behavior during steady-speed hopping in tammar wallabies.
1998,
Pubmed
Browning,
The effects of adding mass to the legs on the energetics and biomechanics of walking.
2007,
Pubmed
CAVAGNA,
MECHANICAL WORK IN RUNNING.
1964,
Pubmed
Carr,
Differential segmental strain during active lengthening in a large biarticular thigh muscle during running.
2011,
Pubmed
Carrier,
Dynamic gearing in running dogs.
1998,
Pubmed
Daley,
Muscle force-length dynamics during level versus incline locomotion: a comparison of in vivo performance of two guinea fowl ankle extensors.
2003,
Pubmed
Fenn,
A quantitative comparison between the energy liberated and the work performed by the isolated sartorius muscle of the frog.
1923,
Pubmed
Fischmeister,
Cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate regulates the calcium current in single cells from frog ventricle.
1987,
Pubmed
Gabaldón,
Relative shortening velocity in locomotor muscles: turkey ankle extensors operate at low V/V(max).
2008,
Pubmed
Gillis,
Effects of surface grade on proximal hindlimb muscle strain and activation during rat locomotion.
2002,
Pubmed
Gillis,
Patterns of strain and activation in the thigh muscles of goats across gaits during level locomotion.
2005,
Pubmed
Griffin,
Metabolic cost of generating muscular force in human walking: insights from load-carrying and speed experiments.
2003,
Pubmed
HILL,
The energetics of relaxation in a muscle twitch.
1949,
Pubmed
Heglund,
Energetics and mechanics of terrestrial locomotion. IV. Total mechanical energy changes as a function of speed and body size in birds and mammals.
1982,
Pubmed
Holt,
The effects of asymmetric length trajectories on the initial mechanical efficiency of mouse soleus muscles.
2012,
Pubmed
Katz,
The relation between force and speed in muscular contraction.
1939,
Pubmed
Kram,
Energetics of running: a new perspective.
1990,
Pubmed
Kretzschmar,
A new method for absolute heat measurement, utilizing the Peltier effect.
1972,
Pubmed
Kretzschmar,
The use of the Peltier effect for simple and accurate calibration of thermoelectric devices.
1975,
Pubmed
Linari,
Energy storage during stretch of active single fibres from frog skeletal muscle.
2003,
Pubmed
Lou,
Contraction with shortening during stimulation or during relaxation: how do the energetic costs compare?
1998,
Pubmed
Lou,
Elastic energy storage and release in white muscle from dogfish scyliorhinus canicula.
1999,
Pubmed
Marsh,
Thermal dependence of contractile properties of skeletal muscle from the lizard Sceloporus occidentalis with comments on methods for fitting and comparing force-velocity curves.
1986,
Pubmed
Marsh,
The energetic costs of trunk and distal-limb loading during walking and running in guinea fowl Numida meleagris: I. Organismal metabolism and biomechanics.
2006,
Pubmed
McGuigan,
Dynamics of goat distal hind limb muscle-tendon function in response to locomotor grade.
2009,
Pubmed
Minetti,
A theory of metabolic costs for bipedal gaits.
1997,
Pubmed
Minetti,
The relationship between mechanical work and energy expenditure of locomotion in horses.
1999,
Pubmed
Roberts,
Muscular force in running turkeys: the economy of minimizing work.
1997,
Pubmed
Roberts,
Energetics of bipedal running. II. Limb design and running mechanics.
1998,
Pubmed
Roberts,
Muscle strain is modulated more with running slope than speed in wild turkey knee and hip extensors.
2007,
Pubmed
Rome,
Why animals have different muscle fibre types.
1988,
Pubmed
Smith,
The efficiency of muscle contraction.
2005,
Pubmed
Steudel,
The work and energetic cost of locomotion. I. The effects of limb mass distribution in quadrupeds.
1990,
Pubmed
Taylor,
Energetics and mechanics of terrestrial locomotion.
1982,
Pubmed
Tickle,
Load carrying during locomotion in the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis): the effect of load placement and size.
2010,
Pubmed
Trinh,
Effects of stretch on work and efficiency of frog (Rana pipiens) muscle.
2007,
Pubmed
Woledge,
Energetic aspects of muscle contraction.
1985,
Pubmed
