TY - JOUR
TI - Gastrocnemius medialis architectural properties at rest and during stretching in female athletes with different flexibility training background
AU - Donti, O.
AU - Panidis, I.
AU - Terzis, G.
AU - Bogdanis, G.C.
JO - Human Sport Medicine
PY - 2019
VL - 7
TODO - 2
SP - null
PB - MDPI
SN - null
TODO - 10.3390/sports7020039
TODO - null
TODO - 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 ± 0.27 vs. 4.74 ± 0.33 mm, respectively, p = 0.001) and the distal part of GM (5.63 ± 0.52 vs. 4.57 ± 0.51 mm, respectively, p = 0.001), smaller pennation angle at the medial part (22.4 ± 2.5 vs. 25.8 ± 2.4◦; respectively, p = 0.001) and greater ankle angle (121.7 ± 4.1 vs. 113.2 ± 3.7◦, 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 < 0.001) and muscle tendon junction displacement (p < 0.001) with no difference between groups in pennation angles (p > 0.145), muscle thickness (p > 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. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
ER -