The control of mono‐articular muscles in multijoint leg extensions in man.

1. Movements often require control of direction and a magnitude of force exerted externally on the environment. Bi‐articular upper leg muscles appear to play a unique role in the regulation of the net torques about the hip and knee joints, necessary for the control of this external force. 2. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the mono‐articular muscles act as work generators in powerful dynamic leg extensions, which means that they should be activated primarily in the phases during which they can contribute to work, irrespective of the net joint torques required to control the external force. 3. Cycling movements of six trained subjects were analysed by means of inverse dynamics, yielding net joint torques as well as activity patterns and shortening velocities of four mono‐ and four bi‐articular leg muscles. 4. The results show that the mono‐articular muscles exert force only in the phase in which these muscles shorten, whereas this appears not to be the case for the bi‐articular muscles. 5. Reciprocal patterns of activation of the rectus femoris and hamstring muscles appear to tune the distribution of net joint torques about the hip and knee joints, necessary to control the (changing) direction of the force on the pedal. 6. An analysis of running in man and additional related literature based on animal studies appears to provide further support for the hypothesis that mono‐ and bi‐articular muscles have essentially different roles in these powerful multijoint leg extension tasks.

[1]  E. Schomburg,et al.  Phasic control of the transmission in the excitatory and inhibitory reflex pathways from cutaneous afferents to α-motoneurones during fictive locomotion in cats , 1978, Neuroscience Letters.

[2]  B. Walmsley,et al.  Forces produced by medial gastrocnemius and soleus muscles during locomotion in freely moving cats. , 1978, Journal of neurophysiology.

[3]  G J van Ingen Schenau,et al.  The global design of the hindlimb in quadrupeds. , 1993, Acta anatomica.

[4]  J. Saunders,et al.  Relation of human electromyogram to muscular tension. , 1952, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[5]  Gerrit Jan VAN INGEN SCHENAU,et al.  From rotation to translation: Constraints on multi-joint movements and the unique action of bi-articular muscles , 1989 .

[6]  W. B. Marks,et al.  Activity of spindle afferents from cat anterior thigh muscles. III. Effects of external stimuli. , 1985, Journal of neurophysiology.

[7]  C. Pratt,et al.  Differential use and control of mono- and biarticular muscles , 1994 .

[8]  Carol A. Pratt,et al.  THE MANY DISGUISES OF SENSE : THE NEED FOR MULTITASK STUDIES OF MULTIARTICULAR MOVEMENTS , 1992 .

[9]  Shuji Suzuki,et al.  EMG activity and kinematics of human cycling movements at different constant velocities , 1982, Brain Research.

[10]  A. Bekoff,et al.  Neural control of limb coordination. I. Comparison of hatching and walking motor output patterns in normal and deafferented chicks , 1987, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[11]  Ronald F. Zernicke,et al.  Predictions for neural control based on limb dynamics , 1987, Trends in Neurosciences.

[12]  G. J. van Ingen Schenau,et al.  The constrained control of force and position in multi-joint movements , 1992, Neuroscience.

[13]  G Németh,et al.  In vivo moment arm lengths for hip extensor muscles at different angles of hip flexion. , 1985, Journal of biomechanics.

[14]  G. J. van Ingen Schenau,et al.  Control of an external force in leg extensions in humans. , 1992, The Journal of physiology.

[15]  D. Burke,et al.  Reflex changes in muscle spindle discharge during a voluntary contraction. , 1988, Journal of neurophysiology.

[16]  P. Buser,et al.  Central locomotor programming in the rabbit , 1979, Brain Research.

[17]  C. M. Chanaud,et al.  Functionally complex muscles of the cat hindlimb , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[18]  T. Nichols.  The organization of heterogenic reflexes among muscles crossing the ankle joint in the decerebrate cat. , 1989, The Journal of physiology.

[19]  J. Smith,et al.  Adaptive control for backward quadrupedal walking. II. Hindlimb muscle synergies. , 1990, Journal of neurophysiology.

[20]  R Jacobs,et al.  Function of mono- and biarticular muscles in running. , 1993, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[21]  R. Griffiths.  Shortening of muscle fibres during stretch of the active cat medial gastrocnemius muscle: the role of tendon compliance. , 1991, The Journal of physiology.

[22]  R. Eccles,et al.  Synaptic actions in motoneurones by afferents in which may evoke the flexion reflex , 1959 .

[23]  J. Cabelguen,et al.  Main characteristics of the hindlimb locomotor cycle in the decorticate cat with special reference to bifunctional muscles , 1980, Brain Research.

[24]  P R Cavanagh,et al.  Knee flexor moments during propulsion in cycling--a creative solution to Lombard's Paradox. , 1985, Journal of biomechanics.

[25]  Hooshang Hemami,et al.  Simulation Studies of Musculo-Skeletal Dynamics in Cycling and Sitting on a Chair , 1990 .

[26]  D. Grieve.  Prediction of gastrocnemius length from knee and ankle joint posture , 1978 .

[27]  W. T. Dempster,et al.  SPACE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SEATED OPERATOR, GEOMETRICAL, KINEMATIC, AND MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF THE BODY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE LIMBS , 1955 .

[28]  M. L. Hull,et al.  Regression equations for estimating the length of six biarticular muscle-tendon complexes of the lower extremity as a function of hip & knee flexion angles , 1989 .

[29]  D. McCrea.  Can sense be made of spinal interneuron circuits , 1992 .

[30]  D. A. Hawkins,et al.  Analysis of Muscular Work in Multisegmental Movements: Application to Cycling , 1990 .