Musculotendinous Factors Influencing Difference in Ankle Joint Flexibility between Women and Men

• Kato Emika

  Graduate School of Human Sciences, Waseda University

• Oda Toshiaki

  Department of Life Sciences, University of Tokyo

• Chino Kentaro

  Department of Life Sciences, University of Tokyo

• Kurihara Toshiyuki

  Department of Life Sciences, University of Tokyo

• Nagayoshi Toshihiko

  Graduate School of Human Sciences, Waseda University

• Fukunaga Tetsuo

  Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University

• Kawakami Yasuo

  Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University

抄録

Flexibility is often evaluated from the joint range of motion (ROM), but the mechanisms underlying gender differences in joint ROM have not been elucidated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the difference in ankle joint ROM between men and women with respect to the extensibility of muscle-tendon complex. Eighteen men (21-26 yr, 66.4±6.0kg, 173.7±7.4cm mean±SD) and 12 women (19-27yr, 52.9±4.8kg, 163.4±4.3cm) participated in this study. Each subject was seated with the knee extended, and the ankle joint was attached to a foot plate, by which the ankle joint was passively dorsiflexed with torque gradually increasing from zero to a value at which the passive loading to the ankle joint was just tolerable for each subject. During the passive loading, real-time ultrasonogram was taken to track the movement of MTJ (muscle-tendon junction of the gastrocnemius medialis and Achilles tendon) as the elongation of muscle belly (dMus). The change of MTC (muscle-tendon complex) length (dMTC) during the passive dorsiflexion was estimated from changes in ankle joint angle. Tendon elongation (dTen) was calculated by subtracting dMus from dMTC. There was no significant difference in normalized passive torque during passive dorsiflexion between men and women. Women were more flexible, i.e., they demonstrated greater dMTC, which was accompanied by greater dTen at lower torque levels. However, dMus was not different between men and women. It was concluded that gender difference in the joint ROM at the ankle reflects more compliant Achilles tendon in women than in men.

収録刊行物

• Ｉｎｔ．　Ｊ．　Ｓｐｏｒｔ　Ｈｅａｌｔｈ　Ｓｃｉ．

  Ｉｎｔ．　Ｊ．　Ｓｐｏｒｔ　Ｈｅａｌｔｈ　Ｓｃｉ． 3 (Special_Issue_2005), 218-225, 2005

  一般社団法人 日本体育・スポーツ・健康学会

キーワード

• flexibility
• gender difference
• ankle joint
• muscle-tendon complex

詳細情報

• CRID: 1390001205286834048
• NII論文ID: 130000069681
• DOI: 10.5432/ijshs.3.218
• ISSN: 18804012
• ISSN: 13481509
• 本文言語コード: en
• データソース種別:
  • JaLC
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
• 抄録ライセンスフラグ: 使用不可