Selective activation of lower leg muscles during maximum voluntary isometric contractions

Marco Hagen; Gerrit Schwiertz; Karl B Landorf; Hylton B Menz; George S Murley

doi:10.1016/j.humov.2016.10.002

Selective activation of lower leg muscles during maximum voluntary isometric contractions

Hum Mov Sci. 2016 Dec:50:30-37. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2016.10.002. Epub 2016 Oct 7.

Authors

Marco Hagen¹, Gerrit Schwiertz², Karl B Landorf³, Hylton B Menz⁴, George S Murley⁵

Affiliations

¹ Biomechanics Laboratory, Institute of Sport and Movement Sciences, University Duisburg-Essen, Gladbecker Str. 182, 45141 Essen, Germany. Electronic address: marco.hagen@uni-due.de.
² Biomechanics Laboratory, Institute of Sport and Movement Sciences, University Duisburg-Essen, Gladbecker Str. 182, 45141 Essen, Germany. Electronic address: gerrit.schwiertz@stud.uni-due.de.
³ Discipline of Podiatry and Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia; Department of Allied Health, Melbourne Health, 300 Grattan St, Parkville, VIC 3050, Australia. Electronic address: k.landorf@latrobe.edu.au.
⁴ Discipline of Podiatry and Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia. Electronic address: h.menz@latrobe.edu.au.
⁵ Discipline of Podiatry and Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia. Electronic address: g.murley@latrobe.edu.au.

PMID: 27721087
DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2016.10.002

Abstract

The pronators and supinators play a key role in the medio-lateral stability of the ankle joint complex (i.e. talo-crural and subtalar joints). We hypothesized that each shank muscle has a specific activation pattern determined by its anatomical course around the axes of the subtalar and talo-crural joints. A secondary objective was to examine the effect of foot posture on these activation patterns. Forty-nine young adults (25 normal-arched feet, 24 flat-arched feet) performed maximum voluntary isometric contractions against manual resistance in four movement directions: plantarflexion (PF), dorsiflexion (DF), pronation (PRO) and supination (SUP). Electromyographic activity was recorded from tibialis posterior (TP) and peroneus longus (PL) with intramuscular electrodes, and gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and tibialis anterior (TA) with surface electrodes. When compared to their agonist function, all muscles were co-activated at significantly lower levels in their synergistic function (GM: 23% during SUP, TA: 72% during SUP; TP: 42% during PF, PL: 52% during PF) (p<0.001). A significant interaction between foot posture and contraction type was evident for TA. During isometric contractions, the electromyographic activity of the shank muscles is geared to their biomechanical advantage according to their position relative to the subtalar and talo-crural joint axes.

Keywords: Agonist; Electromyography; Foot posture; Joint axis; Muscles; Synergist.

MeSH terms

Adult
Ankle Joint / physiology
Biomechanical Phenomena / physiology
Electromyography*
Female
Flatfoot / physiopathology
Humans
Isometric Contraction / physiology*
Leg / physiology*
Male
Middle Aged
Muscle, Skeletal / physiology*
Pronation / physiology
Subtalar Joint / physiology
Supination / physiology
Young Adult