Article

We have reported that peak hip extension is nearly identical in walking and
running, suggesting that anatomical constraints, such as flexor muscle tightness
may limit the range of hip extension. To obtain a more mechanistic insight into
mobility at the hip and pelvis we examined the lengths of the muscle-tendons
units crossing the hip joint. Data defining the three-dimensional kinematics of
26 healthy runners at self-selected walking and running speeds were obtained.
These data were used to scale and drive musculoskeletal models using OpenSIM.
Muscle-tendon unit (MTU) lengths were calculated for the trailing limb illiacus,
rectus femoris, gluteus maximus, and biceps femoris long head and the advancing
limb biceps femoris and gluteus maximus. The magnitude and timing of MTU length
peaks were each compared between walking and running. The peak length of the
right (trailing limb) illiacus MTU, a pure hip flexor, was nearly identical
between walking and running, while the maximum length of the rectus femoris MTU,
a hip flexor and knee extensor, increased during running. The maximum length of
the left (leading limb) biceps femoris was also unchanged between walking and
running. Further, the timing of peak illiacus MTU length and peak contralateral
biceps femoris MTU length occurred essentially simultaneously during running, at
a time during gait when the hamstrings are most vulnerable to stretch injury.
This latter finding suggests exploring the role for hip flexor stretching in
combination with hamstring stretching to treat and/or prevent running related
hamstring injury.
CI - Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS