Zitat von Camper im Beitrag #50

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Und die haben herausgefunden, (leider kein Link, deshalb meine grobschlächtige Wiedergabe aus dem Gedächtnis) dass bei einigen kenianischen Völkern die Sehnen besondere Eigenschaften haben, sowohl im Hinblick auf die spezielle Elastizität als auch auf die Punkte, wo die am Knochen angewachsen sind.

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- K. Sano, M. Ishikawa, A. Nobue, et al., "Muscle–tendon interaction and EMG profiles of world class endurance runners during hopping," European Journal of Applied Physiology, June 2013, Volume 113, Issue 6, pp 1395-1403

Zitat von Abstract

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The present study examined the muscle–tendon interaction of ten international level Kenyan runners. Ultrasonography and kinematics were applied together with EMG recordings of lower limb muscles during repetitive hopping performed at maximal level. The ten Kenyans had longer gastro Achilles tendon at rest (p < 0.01) as compared with ten control subjects matched in height. Conversely, the stretching and shortening amplitudes of the tendinous tissues of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle were significantly smaller in the Kenyans than in controls during the contact phase of hopping. This applied also to the fascicle length changes, which were smaller and more homogeneous among Kenyans. These limited musculo-tendinous changes resulted in higher maximal hopping height and in larger power despite their reduced body weight. The associated finding of a greater shortening to stretching ratio of the MG tendinous tissues during contact could imply that the Kenyan MG muscle–tendon unit is optimized to favor efficient storage and recoil of elastic energy, while operating at optimal muscle fascicle working range (plateau region).

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- Kunimasa, Y., K. Sanao, O. Toshiaki, C. Nicol, E. Locatelli, "Specific muscle–tendon architecture in elite Kenyan distance runners," Scandinavian J. of Medicine and Science in Sports, 24:4 (2014).

Zitat von ABSTRACT

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The Achilles tendon moment arm (MA_AT) and foot lever ratio (FLR) can play important roles for force production and movement economy during locomotion. This notion has become more relevant, and suggestion has been given that the Kenyan runners belonging to the world elite would have specific anatomical, mechanical, and functional properties in their lower limbs and that this feature could be responsible for their high running economy. The present study aimed to characterize the AT of elite Kenyan distance runners as compared with Japanese ones, and to examine the potential relationship with their running performance. Ultrasonography was used to measure AT cross-sectional area and AT soleus and gastrocnemius lengths. MA_AT and FLR were calculated from the position of anatomical landmarks using sagittal plane photographs. MA_AT was significantly longer and the FLR lower in Kenyans than in Japanese. Independently of the group, the running performance was positively related to the MA_AT (r = 0.55, P < 0.001) and negatively to the FLR (r = −0.45, P = 0.002). These results suggest that longer MA_AT and lower FLR could be advantageous in elite Kenyan runners, by contributing to effective endurance running performance in a protective and economical way.

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