title: Biomechanical properties of the human ankle in relation to passive stretch.
abstract: Viscous/plastic properties were investigated in the passive tissue opposing dorsiflexion of the human ankle. The foot was rotated (dorsiflexed) and fixed. Due to viscous/plastic properties, the passive torque declined with time. After 300 s, torque, relative to the initial torque at 0 s, had fallen by 22.7% +/- 2.6% (mean +/- 1S.D.), as an expression of the relative importance of the viscous/plastic tissue properties for the passive torque. By a peel-off technique the number of different tissue elements with viscous/plastic properties was found to be at least three. After 100 s, all but one of these elements had yielded completely. Viscous/plastic properties were unchanged by stretching when measured 90 min after a single stretching program and when measured 24 h after stretching procedures had been performed twice a day for three weeks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Information and Image Analysis, Aalborg University, Denmark.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Toft
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sinkjaer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kålund
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Espersen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000842:Ankle / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D014783:Viscosity