Why tendons are inelastic

You have contact with the ground for about two tenths of a second, and during that time you will both land and your muscles and tendons will absorb the impact. You will then continue running:. She is a doctoral research fellow at the NIH Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and she has studied how the muscles and tendons in the calves work in tandem and literally make each other stronger.

Among other things this enables the calf muscles to work more slowly. This in turn probably helps to protect the muscles against injury, especially when you have to brake a bit. If contraction - just as you kick off - is able to happen more slowly, the muscle will manage to produce more power. For every step taken when running, there are two things which occur simultaneously in the calf muscle and the Achilles tendon:. Higher elastic modulus means greater stress is required to get a certain amount of strain e.

Hang a rubber band from a cabinet knob, doorknob or other feature. Use a paperclip or tape to hang a plastic cup or baggie or other container to the rubber band. Measure the length of the rubber band.

Start adding pennies, five at a time, to the container. Measure the distance the rubber band stretches with each addition and calculate the strain for each case. Do this until you have added 25 pennies and record your results. Now look at the strain values you have and find how much the strain changed between each addition of pennies.

Working Out. Weight Loss. Book Swipe Shop. We're Hiring! Terms Privacy Policy. Don't Miss Out! Yes, Please No Thanks. Google Scholar. The series elastic component of muscle. Article Google Scholar. Griffiths RI.

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