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Gastrocnemius Medialis Architectural Properties at Rest and During Stretching in Female Athletes with Different Flexibility Training Background
- Source :
- Sports, Sports, Vol 7, Iss 2, p 39 (2019), Volume 7, Issue 2
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- MDPI, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Background: This study examined gastrocnemius medialis (GM) architectural properties and ankle joint range of motion (ROM) between female athletes with different flexibility training background. Methods: Elite rhythmic gymnasts (n = 10) were compared to national level volleyball athletes (n = 10). Fascicle length, pennation angle and muscle thickness at the medial and the distal part of GM, and ankle ROM were measured at rest and during 1 min of static stretching. Results: At rest, rhythmic gymnasts displayed longer fascicles compared to volleyball athletes, at the medial (5.93 &plusmn<br />0.27 vs. 4.74 &plusmn<br />0.33 mm, respectively, p = 0.001) and the distal part of GM (5.63 &plusmn<br />0.52 vs. 4.57 &plusmn<br />0.51 mm, respectively, p = 0.001), smaller pennation angle at the medial part (22.4 &plusmn<br />2.5 vs. 25.8 &plusmn<br />2.4&deg<br />respectively, p = 0.001) and greater ankle angle (121.7 &plusmn<br />4.1 vs. 113.2 &plusmn<br />3.7&deg<br />respectively, p = 0.001). During the 1 min of static stretching, gymnasts displayed greater fascicle elongation at the distal part (p = 0.026), greater maximal ankle dorsiflexion (p &lt<br />0.001) and muscle tendon junction displacement (p &lt<br />0.001) with no difference between groups in pennation angles (p &gt<br />0.145), muscle thickness (p &gt<br />0.105), and fascicle elongation at mid-belly (p = 0.063). Conclusions: Longer muscle fascicles at rest and greater fascicle elongation at the distal part of GM may contribute to the greater ankle ROM observed in rhythmic gymnasts.
- Subjects :
- Flexibility (anatomy)
education
Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
030204 cardiovascular system & hematology
fascicle length
Article
Static stretching
03 medical and health sciences
lcsh:GV557-1198.995
0302 clinical medicine
skeletal muscle ultrasonoraphy
medicine
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Rest (music)
lcsh:Sports
biology
Athletes
business.industry
030229 sport sciences
Anatomy
Fascicle
stretching
biology.organism_classification
medicine.anatomical_structure
muscle architecture
Ankle
Muscle architecture
Range of motion
business
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20754663
- Volume :
- 7
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Sports
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....271bfd5f8653252de7f0b25b7a35f615