Relationships between range of motion, Lo, and passive force in five strap-like muscles of the feline hind limb

Brown, Ian E.; Liinamaa, Tiina; Loeb, Gerald E.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(199610)230:1<69::aid-jmor6>3.0.co;2-i

Cited by 54 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…It has previously been suggested that increased passive muscle stiffness limits a limb's range of motion (Brown et al 1996). Therefore, the observed compliance of frog hindlimb muscles may allow for the large joint excursions associated with a jump and may imply a broader relationship between changes in passive muscle properties and diversity in limb posture.…”

Section: Discussion (A) Operating Lengths Of the Frog Plantarismentioning

confidence: 99%

Muscle performance during frog jumping: influence of elasticity on muscle operating lengths

2010

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A fundamental feature of vertebrate muscle is that maximal force can be generated only over a limited range of lengths. It has been proposed that locomotor muscles operate over this range of lengths in order to maximize force production during movement. However, locomotor behaviours like jumping may require muscles to shorten substantially in order to generate the mechanical work necessary to propel the body. Thus, the muscles that power jumping may need to shorten to lengths where force production is submaximal. Here we use direct measurements of muscle length in vivo and muscle force-length relationships in vitro to determine the operating lengths of the plantaris muscle in bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) during jumping. We find that the plantaris muscle operates primarily on the descending limb of the force-length curve, resting at long initial lengths (1.3 + 0.06 L o ) before shortening to muscle's optimal length (1.03 + 0.05 L o ). We also compare passive force-length curves from frogs with literature values for mammalian muscle, and demonstrate that frog muscles must be stretched to much longer lengths before generating passive force. The relatively compliant passive properties of frog muscles may be a critical feature of the system, because it allows muscles to operate at long lengths and improves muscles' capacity for force production during a jump.

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Section: Discussion (A) Operating Lengths Of the Frog Plantarismentioning

confidence: 99%

Muscle performance during frog jumping: influence of elasticity on muscle operating lengths

2010

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“…Passive stiffness varies considerably between individual muscles (Brown et al, 1996;Azizi and Roberts, 2010;Azizi, 2014), with modulus values ranging from a low of about 100 kPa to a high above 700 kPa (calculated from fig. 2 of Brown et al, 1996, and fig. 5 and supplementary table S1 of Azizi, 2014).…”

Section: Whole Muscles and The Ecmmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…It should be emphasized that this represents an upper limit for ECM-based stiffness, because the stiffness of a whole muscle will include contributions from all of the components discussed above. Passive stiffness varies considerably between individual muscles (Brown et al, 1996;Azizi and Roberts, 2010;Azizi, 2014), with modulus values ranging from a low of about 100 kPa to a high above 700 kPa (calculated from fig. 2 of Brown et al, 1996, and fig.…”

Section: Whole Muscles and The Ecmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of elastic tissues to the mechanics and energetics of muscle function during movement

Roberts

2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

165

115

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Muscle force production occurs within an environment of tissues that exhibit spring-like behavior, and this elasticity is a critical determinant of muscle performance during locomotion. Muscle force and power output both depend on the speed of contraction, as described by the isotonic force-velocity curve. By influencing the speed of contractile elements, elastic structures can have a profound effect on muscle force, power and work. In very rapid movements, elastic mechanisms can amplify muscle power by storing the work of muscle contraction slowly and releasing it rapidly. When energy must be dissipated rapidly, such as in landing from a jump, energy stored rapidly in elastic elements can be released more slowly to stretch muscle contractile elements, reducing the power input to muscle and possibly protecting it from damage. Elastic mechanisms identified so far rely primarily on in-series tendons, but many structures within muscles exhibit springlike properties. Actomyosin cross-bridges, actin and myosin filaments, titin, and the connective tissue scaffolding of the extracellular matrix all have the potential to store and recover elastic energy during muscle contraction. The potential contribution of these elements can be assessed from their stiffness and estimates of the strain they undergo during muscle function. Such calculations provide boundaries for the possible roles these springs might play in locomotion, and may help to direct future studies of the uses of elastic elements in muscle.

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“…Experiments on isolated Periplaneta legs showed that their returns are indeed gravity independent, and Carcinus passive muscle forces relative to leg mass are large enough that they should be as well. Multiple (ankle extensor, biceps femoris anterior, caudofemoralis, medial gastrocnemius, sartorius anterior, semitendinosus, tenuissimus) cat leg muscles develop passive forces (Grillner, 1972;Stephens et al, 1975;Brown et al, 1996) equal to the force of gravity on masses much larger (0.8 -4 kg) than those of the limbs the muscles move, and these limbs should thus also have gravity-independent rest postures. Relaxed human fingers assume a "C"-shaped configuration regardless of hand position relative to gravity.…”

Section: Gravity-independent Rest Positions and Muscle Passive Force mentioning

confidence: 96%

Neural Control of Unloaded Leg Posture and of Leg Swing in Stick Insect, Cockroach, and Mouse Differs from That in Larger Animals

Hooper¹,

Guschlbauer²,

Blümel³

et al. 2009

J. Neurosci.

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Stick insect (Carausius morosus) leg muscles contract and relax slowly. Control of stick insect leg posture and movement could therefore differ from that in animals with faster muscles. Consistent with this possibility, stick insect legs maintained constant posture without leg motor nerve activity when the animals were rotated in air. That unloaded leg posture was an intrinsic property of the legs was confirmed by showing that isolated legs had constant, gravity-independent postures. Muscle ablation experiments, experiments showing that leg muscle passive forces were large compared with gravitational forces, and experiments showing that, at the rest postures, agonist and antagonist muscles generated equal forces indicated that these postures depended in part on leg muscles. Leg muscle recordings showed that stick insect swing motor neurons fired throughout the entirety of swing. To test whether these results were specific to stick insect, we repeated some of these experiments in cockroach (Periplaneta americana) and mouse. Isolated cockroach legs also had gravityindependent rest positions and mouse swing motor neurons also fired throughout the entirety of swing. These data differ from those in human and horse but not cat. These size-dependent variations in whether legs have constant, gravity-independent postures, in whether swing motor neurons fire throughout the entirety of swing, and calculations of how quickly passive muscle force would slow limb movement as limb size varies suggest that these differences may be caused by scaling. Limb size may thus be as great a determinant as phylogenetic position of unloaded limb motor control strategy.

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Relationships between range of motion, Lo, and passive force in five strap-like muscles of the feline hind limb

Cited by 54 publications

References 23 publications

Muscle performance during frog jumping: influence of elasticity on muscle operating lengths

Muscle performance during frog jumping: influence of elasticity on muscle operating lengths

Contribution of elastic tissues to the mechanics and energetics of muscle function during movement

Neural Control of Unloaded Leg Posture and of Leg Swing in Stick Insect, Cockroach, and Mouse Differs from That in Larger Animals

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