Eur J Appl Physiol DOI 10.1007/s00421-014-3067-7
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Can measures of muscle–tendon interaction improve our understanding of the superiority of Kenyan endurance runners? Kanae Sano · Caroline Nicol · Masanobu Akiyama · Yoko Kunimasa · Toshiaki Oda · Akira Ito · Elio Locatelli · Paavo V. Komi · Masaki Ishikawa
Received: 16 April 2014 / Accepted: 25 November 2014 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract Purpose Leg muscle activation profiles and muscle–tendon interaction were studied with eleven internationally high-level Kenyan and eleven national level Japanese distance runners. Methods Ultrasonography and kinematics were applied together with surface electromyography (EMG) recordings of leg muscles when subjects ran on treadmill at 9.0 (SLOW) and 13.9 km h−1 (MEDIUM). Results At each speed, both groups presented similar contact and flight times. The kinematic and ultrasound analyses revealed that, in contrast to the Japanese runners, the Kenyans demonstrated during contact smaller stretching and Communicated by Olivier Seynnes. K. Sano (*) · M. Akiyama · Y. Kunimasa · A. Ito · M. Ishikawa Osaka University of Health and Sport Science, Asashirodai 1‑1, Kumatori‑cho, Sennan‑Gun, Osaka 590‑0496, Japan e-mail: [email protected] M. Ishikawa e-mail: [email protected] C. Nicol CNRS, UMR 7287, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France C. Nicol Norwegian School of Sport Science, Oslo, Norway T. Oda Hyogo University of Teacher Education, Katō, Hyogo, Japan E. Locatelli International Association of Athletics Federations, Monaco, Monaco P. V. Komi NMRC and Likes Research Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
shortening amplitudes (p
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Can measures of muscle–tendon interaction improve our understanding of the superiority of Kenyan endurance runners? Kanae Sano · Caroline Nicol · Masanobu Akiyama · Yoko Kunimasa · Toshiaki Oda · Akira Ito · Elio Locatelli · Paavo V. Komi · Masaki Ishikawa
Received: 16 April 2014 / Accepted: 25 November 2014 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract Purpose Leg muscle activation profiles and muscle–tendon interaction were studied with eleven internationally high-level Kenyan and eleven national level Japanese distance runners. Methods Ultrasonography and kinematics were applied together with surface electromyography (EMG) recordings of leg muscles when subjects ran on treadmill at 9.0 (SLOW) and 13.9 km h−1 (MEDIUM). Results At each speed, both groups presented similar contact and flight times. The kinematic and ultrasound analyses revealed that, in contrast to the Japanese runners, the Kenyans demonstrated during contact smaller stretching and Communicated by Olivier Seynnes. K. Sano (*) · M. Akiyama · Y. Kunimasa · A. Ito · M. Ishikawa Osaka University of Health and Sport Science, Asashirodai 1‑1, Kumatori‑cho, Sennan‑Gun, Osaka 590‑0496, Japan e-mail: [email protected] M. Ishikawa e-mail: [email protected] C. Nicol CNRS, UMR 7287, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France C. Nicol Norwegian School of Sport Science, Oslo, Norway T. Oda Hyogo University of Teacher Education, Katō, Hyogo, Japan E. Locatelli International Association of Athletics Federations, Monaco, Monaco P. V. Komi NMRC and Likes Research Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
shortening amplitudes (p
