M. Biceps Femoris Long Head Architecture and Sprint Ability in Youth Soccer Players

Abstract

Purpose: Hamstring muscle architecture may be associated with sprint performance and the risk of sustaining a muscle injury, both of which increase during puberty. In this study, we investigated the m. biceps femoris long head (BFlh) cross-sectional area (ACSA), fascicle length (FL) and pennation angle (PA), and sprint performance as well as their relationship in under 13 to 15 youth soccer players. Methods: We measured 85 players in under-13 (n = 29, age = 12.5 [0.1] y, height = 155.3 [6.2] cm, weight = 43.9 [7.6] kg), under-14 (n = 25, age = 13.5 [0.3] y, height = 160.6 [7.7] cm, weight = 47.0 [6.8] kg), and under-15 (n = 31, age = 14.4 [0.3] y, height = 170.0 [7.7] cm, weight = 58.1 [8.8] kg) teams. We used ultrasound to measure BFlh ACSA, FL and PA, and sprint tests to assess 10- and 30-m sprint time, maximal velocity (vmax), and maximal acceleration (αmax). We calculated Pearson r to assess the relationship between sprint ability and architectural parameters. Results: All muscle architectural parameters increased from the under-13 to the under-15 age group (BFlh ACSA = 37%, BFlh FL = 11%, BFlh PA = 8%). All sprint performance parameters improved from the under-13 to under-15 age categories (30-m time = 7%, 10-m time = 4%, vmax = 9%, αmax = 7%). The BFlh ACSA was correlated with 30-m sprint time (r = −.61 (95% compatibility interval [CI] [−.73, −.45]) and vmax (r = .61, 95% CI [.45, .72]). A combination of BFlh ACSA and age best predicted 30-m time (R² = .47 [.33, .62]) and 10-m time (R² = .23 [.08, .38]). Conclusions: Muscle architectural as well as sprint performance parameters increase from the under-13 to under-15 age groups. Even though we found correlations for all assessed architectural parameters, BFlh ACSA was best related to the assessed sprint parameters.

Biceps femoris long head morphology in youth competitive alpine skiers is associated with age, biological maturation and traumatic lower extremity injuries

“…The average values of Lf, PA and MT (9.2 ± 1.3 cm, 11.0 ± 2.3 °and 1.9 ± 0.3 cm) measured across all study participants appear plausible when compared with values from panoramic ultrasound studies, which investigated youth athletes from a different sport (Lacome et al, 2019;Ritsche et al, 2021). Interestingly, when comparing these values with those of adult elite competitive alpine skiers (Lf = 8.1 ± 1.4 cm, PA = 14.9 ± 4.1 °and MT = 2.1 ± 0.3 cm) reported in a previous publication from our lab (Franchi et al, 2020b), it seems that youth skiers have on average longer Lf and smaller values of PA and MT.…”

Early Changes of Hamstrings Morphology and Contractile Properties during 10 d of Complete Inactivity

“…As muscle volume is one of the main determinants of muscle power, muscle joint torque production and isokinetic strength are strongly dependent on muscle CSA in different muscle groups (44,45). In sports scenarios, BFlh CSA (obtained by US) has been shown to be associated with 30-m sprint time in young elite football players (46). It follows that a reduction in HS CSA can affect whole muscle function (e.g., maximal/explosive force production) as a result of this loss of contractile material, which goes hand in hand with the decrease in neural recruitment speed and tendon mechanical properties induced by BR (17).…”

DeepACSA: Automatic Segmentation of Cross-Sectional Area in Ultrasound Images of Lower Limb Muscles Using Deep Learning

“…T he anatomical cross-sectional area of a muscle (ACSA) represents a two-dimensional index of muscle size acquired in the transversal plane (1). Muscle ACSA is important for clinical and scientific practice; it is related to the capacity of a muscle to generate force and, as a consequence, to locomotor performance (2,3). Recent investigations have shown that muscle ACSA represents a useful parameter in the diagnosis and classification of several muscular disorders as well as the potential monitoring of disease progression (4)(5)(6)(7).…”