title: Myofascial force transmission between antagonistic rat lower limb muscles: effects of single muscle or muscle group lengthening.
abstract: Effects of lengthening of the whole group of anterior crural muscles (tibialis anterior and extensor hallucis longus muscles (TA+EHL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL)) on myofascial interaction between synergistic EDL and TA+EHL muscles, and on myofascial force transmission between anterior crural and antagonistic peroneal muscles, were investigated. All muscles were either passive or maximally active. Peroneal muscles were kept at a constant muscle tendon complex length. Either EDL or all anterior crural muscles were lengthened so that effects of lengthening of TA+EHL could be analyzed. For both lengthening conditions, a significant difference in proximally and distally measured EDL passive and active forces, indicative of epimuscular myofascial force transmission, was present. However, added lengthening of TA+EHL significantly affected the magnitude of the active and passive load exerted on EDL. For the active condition, the direction of the epimuscular load on EDL was affected; at all muscle lengths a proximally directed load was exerted on EDL, which decreased at higher muscle lengths. Lengthening of anterior crural muscles caused a 26% decrease in peroneal active force. Extramuscular myofascial connections are thought to be the major contributor to the EDL proximo-distal active force difference. For antagonistic peroneal complex, the added distal lengthening of a synergistic muscle increases the effects of extramuscular myofascial force transmission.
authors: Instituut voor Fundamentele en Klinische Bewegingswetenschappen, Faculteit Bewegingswetenschappen, Vrije Universiteit, van der Boechorststraat 9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. h.meijer@fbw.vu.nl
authors: Hanneke J M
authors: HJ
authors: Meijer
authors: Josina M
authors: JM
authors: Rijkelijkhuizen
authors: Peter A
authors: PA
authors: Huijing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005205:Fascia / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000502:physiology; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D013710:Tendons / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology