Muscle metabolic energy costs while modifying propulsive force generation during walking

Pimentel, Richard E.; Pieper, Noah L.; Clark, William H.; Franz, Jason R.

doi:10.1080/10255842.2021.1900134

Cited by 15 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The metabolic power required for TA muscle activation in early stance is relatively small compared to other muscles over other phases of the gait cycle. Furthermore, TA activation is independent of the propulsive force required of the ankle extensor muscles that typically power walking 38 . This allows sensory sampling by the TA muscle to remain independent from the muscular effort that determines whole-body energy costs, which may be particularly important for sensing walking economy at slower walking speeds where propulsive requirements are low.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fascicle dynamics of the tibialis anterior muscle reflect whole-body walking economy

Kwak

Chang

2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Humans can inherently adapt their gait pattern in a way that minimizes the metabolic cost of transport, or walking economy, within a few steps, which is faster than any known direct physiological sensor of metabolic energy. Instead, walking economy may be indirectly sensed through mechanoreceptors that correlate with the metabolic cost per step to make such gait adaptations. We tested whether velocity feedback from tibialis anterior (TA) muscle fascicles during the early stance phase of walking could potentially act to indirectly sense walking economy. As participants walked within a range of steady-state speeds and step frequencies, we observed that TA fascicles lengthen on almost every step. Moreover, the average peak fascicle velocity experienced during lengthening reflected the metabolic cost of transport of the given walking condition. We observed that the peak TA muscle activation occurred earlier than could be explained by a short latency reflex response. The activation of the TA muscle just prior to heel strike may serve as a prediction of the magnitude of the ground collision and the associated energy exchange. In this scenario, any unexpected length change experienced by the TA fascicle would serve as an error signal to the nervous system and provide additional information about energy lost per step. Our work helps provide a biomechanical framework to understand the possible neural mechanisms underlying the rapid optimization of walking economy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fascicle dynamics of the tibialis anterior muscle reflect whole-body walking economy

Kwak

Chang

2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These differences in iEMG between prostheses do not provide a clear mechanism for differences in metabolic power. Moreover, previous studies have inferred that more proximal muscles, such as those surrounding the hip joint, may be less economical than more distal muscles due to different inter-muscular muscle–tendon architecture [ 30 ], which further complicates the inference between muscle activity and metabolic power. Though iEMG characterizes muscle activity magnitude and duration, and is associated with the development of muscle force, which incurs a metabolic cost, differences in leg muscle iEMG when using a passive-elastic versus stance-phase powered prosthesis do not directly relate with differences in metabolic power when using these prostheses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of powered versus passive-elastic ankle foot prostheses on leg muscle activity during level, uphill and downhill walking

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

People with transtibial amputation (TTA) using passive-elastic prostheses have greater leg muscle activity and metabolic cost during level-ground and sloped walking than non-amputees. Use of a stance-phase powered (BiOM) versus passive-elastic prosthesis reduces metabolic cost for people with TTA during level-ground, +3° and +6° walking. Metabolic cost is associated with muscle activity, which may provide insight into differences between prostheses. We measured affected leg (AL) and unaffected leg (UL) muscle activity from ten people with TTA (6 males, 4 females) walking at 1.25 m s −1 on a dual-belt force-measuring treadmill at 0°, ±3°, ±6° and ±9° using their own passive-elastic and the BiOM prosthesis. We compared stride average integrated EMG (iEMG), peak EMG and muscle activity burst duration. Use of the BiOM increased UL lateral gastrocnemius iEMG on downhill slopes and AL biceps femoris on +6° and +9° slopes, and decreased UL rectus femoris on uphill slopes, UL vastus lateralis on +6° and +9°, and soleus and tibialis anterior on a +9° slope compared to a passive-elastic prosthesis. Differences in leg muscle activity for people with TTA using a passive-elastic versus stance-phase powered prosthesis do not clearly explain differences in metabolic cost during walking on level ground and slopes.

show abstract

“…Using functional hip joint centers (24) and a static pose, we scaled all body segments of a gait2392 model (25) for subject-specific anthropometrics in 3 dimensions. Following standard human musculoskeletal modeling techniques (Figure 1B) described previously (17), we performed computed muscle control simulations (26) across a range of tendon strain levels (i.e., ε o , tendon strain at maximum isometric force). Specifically, we simulated ε o at 2%, 3.3% (model default), 4%, 6%, and 8% for all model tendons (92 in total).…”

Section: Musculoskeletal Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We clarify these parameters in our figures by labeling both strain (ε o ) and stiffness (k T ) whenever possible. (17)). We performed a total of 600 computational simulations (i.e., 12 subjects, 5 biofeedback targets, 5 ε o values, 2 strides [left & right]).…”

Section: Musculoskeletal Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Simulations suggest walking with reduced propulsive force would not mitigate the energetic consequences of lower tendon stiffness

Pimentel

Sawicki

Franz

2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aging elicits numerous effects that impact both musculoskeletal structure and walking function. Tendon stiffness (kT) and push-off propulsive force (FP) both impact the metabolic cost of walking and are diminished by age, yet their interaction has not been studied. We combined experimental and computational approaches to investigate whether age-related changes in function (adopting smaller FP) may be adopted to mitigate the metabolic consequences arising from changes in structure (reduced kT). We recruited 12 young adults and asked them to walk on a force-sensing treadmill while prompting them to change FP(±20% & ±40% of typical) using targeted biofeedback. In models driven by experimental data from each of those conditions, we altered the kTof personalized musculoskeletal models across a physiological range (2-8% strain) and simulated individual-muscle metabolic costs for each kTand FPcombination. We found that kTand FPindependently affect walking metabolic cost, increasing with higher kTor as participants deviated from their typical FP. Our results show no evidence for an interaction between kTand FPin younger adults walking at fixed speeds. Individual lower body muscles showed unique effects across the kTand FPlandscape. Our simulations suggest that reducing FPduring walking would not mitigate the metabolic consequences of lower kT. Wearable devices and rehabilitative strategies can focus on either kTor FPto reduce age-related increases in walking metabolic cost.Author SummaryOur muscles and tendons are affected by aging. Tendon stiffness and push-off forces both impact the energy cost of walking, which in turn increases with age. We investigated whether age-related changes in function (less push-off force) may be adopted to mitigate the metabolic consequences arising from structural changes (lower tendon stiffness). Reducing push-off force during walking would not mitigate the metabolic consequences of lower tendon stiffness. Wearable devices and rehabilitative strategies can focus on either tendon stiffness or push off intensity to reduce age-related increases in walking metabolic cost.

show abstract

Muscle metabolic energy costs while modifying propulsive force generation during walking

Cited by 15 publications

References 53 publications

Fascicle dynamics of the tibialis anterior muscle reflect whole-body walking economy

Fascicle dynamics of the tibialis anterior muscle reflect whole-body walking economy

Effects of powered versus passive-elastic ankle foot prostheses on leg muscle activity during level, uphill and downhill walking

Simulations suggest walking with reduced propulsive force would not mitigate the energetic consequences of lower tendon stiffness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About