Musculo-tendinous and joint elastic characteristics during elbow flexion in children.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present research was to determine joint stiffness and musculo-tendinous stiffness in children.


BACKGROUND
No reliable data was available on differences in such parameters when comparing children and adults.


METHODS
Sinusoidal perturbations and quick-released movements were applied to the right elbow during flexion to determine joint stiffness and musculo-tendinous stiffness, respectively. For normalization purposes, stiffness indexes were calculated as the slope of the relationship between stiffness and torque.


RESULTS
Main results were that musculo-tendinous stiffness indexes obtained in children were similar to adult data deduced from the literature. On the other hand, joint stiffness indexes obtained in children were in the range 0.9-3.8 rad(-1) and were lower than those reported in the literature for adults (between 4 and 8.5 rad(-1)).


CONCLUSIONS
Since normalized musculo-tendinous stiffness is similar in children and in adults, it can be hypothesized that, during growth, increase in ability to produce force parallels elastic tissue development.


CONCLUSIONS
Stiffness parameters could be used, in the context of other functional tests, to characterize changes in muscle properties in neuromuscular disorders when elastic tissues are supposed to be altered.
Cornu
C
C
Département de Génie Biologique, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, UMR-CNRS 6600, BP 20529, 60205, Compiègne, Cedex, France.
Goubel
F
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002648:Child; D004548:Elasticity; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D016552:Ergometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D013710:Tendons / Q000502:physiology; D019415:Torque