A comparative study on morphology and functions of muscle-tendon complex in Japanese and Kenyan distance runners

本研究的目的是研究日本和肯尼亚长跑运动员肌腱复合体的形态和功能的差异，并将结果与比赛成绩联系起来。对日本和肯尼亚的数据进行比较，以及日本不同成绩组之间的比较表明，比赛成绩可能与小腿的形态、肌腱几何形状、肌肉僵硬和肌腱顺应性有关。特别是，肯尼亚人的踝关节被动扭矩和肌肉硬度显著高于日本人，分别高出52%和181%。此外，这些参数与日本长跑运动员的比赛成绩呈正相关(R=0.58，0.53)。

The purposes of the present work were to investigate the differences in morphology and functions of muscle-tendon complex in Japanese and Kenyan distance runners, and to relate the results to race performance. The comparison between Japanese and Kenyan data, and between different performance groups in Japanese suggested the possibility that the race performance is related to morphology of lower leg, tendon geometry, muscle stiffness and tendon compliance. In particular, the passive torque of ankle joint and muscle stiffness were significantly higher by 52% and by 181% in Kenyan than in Japanese, respectively. In addition, these parameters showed positive correlations to race performance (R=0.58, 0.53) in Japanese distance runners.