Force transmission dynamics of joint and tendon

• Published in: Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society p. 626 vol.2
• Main Authors: Baratta, R., Solomonow, M., Ichie, M., Hwang, S., Shoji, H., D'Ambrosia, R.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 1988
• Subjects: Elasticity; Frequency; In vivo; Muscles; Plasma welding; Recruitment; Springs; Tendons; Transducers; Viscosity
• ISBN: 0780307852; 9780780307858
• DOI: 10.1109/IEMBS.1988.94796

The force transmission dynamics of a cat's muscle tendon and ankle joint were studied in vivo using electrical muscle stimulation as the activation mode. The orderly recruitment of motor units and their firing rate were varied sinusoidally to evoke sinusoidal muscle force oscillations over a range of frequencies from 0.4 to 6 Hz. The effect of tendon viscoelasticity was studied by performing this procedure on the tibialis anterior with the entire length of the tendon and with the tendon shortened by 2 cm. Joint dynamics were explored by repeating the procedure on the medial gastrocnemius, recording the force from a paw force transducer and a tendon transducer. The data suggest that tendon viscoelasticity has an insignificant effect on the force transmission, behaving as a stiff spring. They also suggest that joint dynamics play an important role in determining the dynamic behavior of muscle-joint system.< >