Muscle performance during frog jumping: influence of elasticity on muscle operating lengths

A fundamental feature of vertebrate muscle is that maximal force can be generated only over a limited range of lengths. It has been proposed that locomotor muscles operate over this range of lengths in order to maximize force production during movement. However, locomotor behaviours like jumping may require muscles to shorten substantially in order to generate the mechanical work necessary to propel the body. Thus, the muscles that power jumping may need to shorten to lengths where force production is submaximal. Here we use direct measurements of muscle length in vivo and muscle force–length relationships in vitro to determine the operating lengths of the plantaris muscle in bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) during jumping. We find that the plantaris muscle operates primarily on the descending limb of the force–length curve, resting at long initial lengths (1.3 ± 0.06 Lo) before shortening to muscle's optimal length (1.03 ± 0.05 Lo). We also compare passive force–length curves from frogs with literature values for mammalian muscle, and demonstrate that frog muscles must be stretched to much longer lengths before generating passive force. The relatively compliant passive properties of frog muscles may be a critical feature of the system, because it allows muscles to operate at long lengths and improves muscles' capacity for force production during a jump.