The landing–take-off asymmetry of human running is enhanced in old age

Journal of Experimental Biology - Tập 211 Số 10 - Trang 1571-1578 - 2008
G Cavagna1, M. A. Legramandi1, Leonardo Alexandre Peyré‐Tartaruga2
1Istituto di Fisiologia Umana, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
2Exercise Research Laboratory, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul,90690-200 Porto Alegre, Brazil

Tóm tắt

SUMMARYThe landing–take-off asymmetry of running was thought to derive from,or at least to be consistent with, the physiological property of muscle to resist stretching (after landing) with a force greater than it can develop during shortening (before take-off). In old age, muscular force is reduced,but the deficit in force is less during stretching than during shortening. The greater loss in concentric versus eccentric strength with aging led us to hypothesize that older versus younger adults would increase the landing–take-off asymmetry in running. To test this hypothesis, we measured the within-step changes in mechanical energy of the centre of mass of the body in old and young subjects. The difference between the peaks in kinetic energy attained during the fall and during the lift of the centre of mass is greater in the old subjects. The difference between the time to lift and accelerate the centre of mass (positive work) and to absorb the same amount of energy during the downward displacement (negative work) is also greater in the old subjects. Both these findings imply a difference in force between stretching and shortening during the bounce, which is greater in the old subjects than in the young subjects. This is qualitatively consistent with the more asymmetric force–velocity relation found in aged muscle and supports, even if does not prove, the hypothesis that the landing–take-off asymmetry in running derives from the different response of muscle to stretching and shortening.

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Journal of Experimental Biology

Tập 211 Số 10

1571-1578

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