Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Obtaining Quality Extended Field-of-View Ultrasound Images of Skeletal Muscle to Measure Muscle Fascicle Length
Published on: December 14, 2020
Myofascial Loads Can Occur without Fascicle Length Changes
Chris Tijs1, Michel Bernabei2, Jaap H van Dieën3
1Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Concord Field Station-Harvard University, Bedford, MA 01730, USA.
Synergistic muscles transmit force through connective tissues, not by changing muscle fascicle length. Lengthening neighboring muscles increased soleus (SO) tendon force, demonstrating myofascial force transmission without altering SO fascicle length.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Muscle Physiology
- Connective Tissue Research
Background:
- Connective tissue linkages facilitate force transmission between synergistic muscles.
- Previous studies observed muscle deformations but lacked direct force measurements, limiting understanding of myofascial force transmission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if myofascial loads from neighboring muscles cause length changes in soleus (SO) fascicles.
- To quantify force transmission between synergistic muscles via the connective tissue network.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two muscle preparations in Wistar rats to assess SO fascicle length and distal tendon force.
- Manipulated the muscle-tendon unit (MTU) length of gastrocnemius (GA) and plantaris (PL) muscles.
- Measured SO fascicle length and distal tendon force during passive and active conditions, including maximal plantar flexor muscle excitation.
Main Results:
- Changes in GA and PL MTU length did not alter SO fascicle length in either passive or active states.
- Lengthening the GA+PL MTU significantly increased SO distal tendon force (43.3-97.8% and 27.5-182.6%).
Conclusions:
- Myofascial force transmission occurs between synergistic muscles via connective tissues parallel to sarcomeres.
- This force transmission does not necessitate substantial changes in the length of the transmitting muscle's fascicles.
Related Concept Videos
Fascicle Arrangement in Skeletal Muscles
The four primary types of muscle based on fascicle arrangement are:
Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
Errors occurring during blood pressure monitoring
Several factors...
Impact Loading
In cases of elastic deformation,...
Distributed Loads
For example, consider a bookshelf filled with books stacked vertically adjacent to each other. The weight of the books is evenly distributed over the length of the shelf. As a result, the pressure at different locations on the surface of the...

