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Leung WKC, Chu KL, Lai C. Sonographic evaluation of the immediate effects of eccentric heel drop exercise on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography. PeerJ. 2017;5:e3592doi: 10.7717/peerj.3592.
Leung, W. K. C., Chu, K. L., & Lai, C. (2017). Sonographic evaluation of the immediate effects of eccentric heel drop exercise on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography. PeerJ, 5e3592. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3592
Leung, Wilson K C, et al. "Sonographic evaluation of the immediate effects of eccentric heel drop exercise on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography." PeerJ vol. 5 (2017): e3592. doi: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3592
Leung WKC, Chu KL, Lai C. Sonographic evaluation of the immediate effects of eccentric heel drop exercise on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography. PeerJ. 2017 Jul 19;5:e3592. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3592. eCollection 2017. PMID: 28740756; PMCID: PMC5520961.
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PeerJ. 2017 Jul 19;5:e3592. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3592. eCollection 2017.

Sonographic evaluation of the immediate effects of eccentric heel drop exercise on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography.

PeerJ

Wilson K C Leung, K L Chu, Christopher Lai

Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Technology and Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.

PMID: 28740756 PMCID: PMC5520961 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3592

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mechanical loading is crucial for muscle and tendon tissue remodeling. Eccentric heel drop exercise has been proven to be effective in the management of Achilles tendinopathy, yet its induced change in the mechanical property (i.e., stiffness) of the Achilles tendon (AT), medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles (MG and LG) was unknown. Given that shear wave elastography has emerged as a powerful tool in assessing soft tissue stiffness with promising intra- and inter-operator reliability, the objective of this study was hence to characterize the stiffness of the AT, MG and LG in response to an acute bout of eccentric heel drop exercise.

METHODS: Forty-five healthy young adults (36 males and nine females) performed 10 sets of 15-repetition heel drop exercise on their dominant leg with fully-extended knee, during which the AT and gastrocnemius muscles, but not soleus, were highly stretched. Before and immediately after the heel drop exercise, elastic moduli of the AT, MG and LG were measured by shear wave elastography.

RESULTS: After the heel drop exercise, the stiffness of AT increased significantly by 41.8 + 33.5% (

DISCUSSION: The gastrocnemius muscles were shown to bear larger mechanical loads than the AT during an acute bout of eccentric heel drop exercise. The findings from this pilot study shed some light on how and to what extent the AT and gastrocnemius muscles mechanically responds to an isolated set of heel drop exercise. Taken together, appropriate eccentric load might potentially benefit mechanical adaptations of the AT and gastrocnemius muscles in the rehabilitation of patients with Achilles tendinopathy.

Keywords: Achilles tendon; Gastrocnemius muscle; Heel drop exercise; Mechanical adaptations; Shear wave elastography

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

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