1. The effect of eccentric and concentric calf muscle training on Achilles tendon stiffness
- Author
-
Roger Woledge, Hazel R. C. Screen, Anna Roskilly, Dan L. Bader, Tomide Isinkaye, Dylan Morrissey, and Richard Twycross-Lewis
- Subjects
Male ,musculoskeletal diseases ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation ,Concentric ,Achilles Tendon ,Risk Assessment ,Sampling Studies ,Young Adult ,Confidence Intervals ,medicine ,Humans ,Eccentric ,Muscle, Skeletal ,Stiffness modulus ,Pain Measurement ,Orthodontics ,Leg ,Achilles tendon ,business.industry ,Rehabilitation ,Stiffness ,musculoskeletal system ,Exercise Therapy ,Tendon ,Surgery ,Treatment Outcome ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Athletes ,Calf muscle ,Tendinopathy ,Eccentric training ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business - Abstract
Objective: To compare in vivo effects of eccentric and concentric calf muscle training on Achilles tendon stiffness, in subjects without tendinopathy.Methods: Thirty-eight recreational athletes completed 6 weeks eccentric (6 males, 13 females, 21.6 ± 2.2 years) or concentric training (8 males, 11 females, 21.1 ± 2.0 years). Achilles tendon stiffness, tendon modulus and single-leg jump height were measured before and after intervention. Exercise adherence was recorded using a diary.Results: All data are reported as mean ± SD. Groups were matched for height and weight but the eccentric training group were more active at baseline ( P Conclusions: Six weeks of eccentric training can alter Achilles tendon stiffness while a matched concentric programme shows no similar effects. Studies in patients with Achilles tendinopathy are warranted.
- Published
- 2010