Simultaneous Quantification of Ankle, Muscle, and Tendon Impedance in Humans

Regulating the impedance of our joints is essential for the effective control of posture and movement. The impedance of a joint is governed mainly by the mechanical properties of the muscle-tendon units spanning it. Many studies have quantified the net impedance of joints but not the specific contributions from the muscles and tendons. The inability to quantify both muscle and tendon impedance limits the ability to determine the causes underlying altered movement control associated with aging, neuromuscular injury, and other conditions that have different effects on muscle and tendon properties. Therefore, we developed a technique to quantify joint, muscle, and tendon impedance simultaneously and evaluated this technique at the human ankle.

We used a single degree of freedom actuator to deliver pseudorandom rotations to the ankle while measuring the corresponding torques. We simultaneously measured the displacement of the medial gastrocnemius muscle-tendon junction with B-mode ultrasound. From these experimental measurements, we were able to estimate ankle, muscle, and tendon impedance using non-parametric system identification.

We validated our estimates by comparing them to previously reported measurements of muscle and tendon stiffness, the position-dependent component of impedance, to demonstrate that our technique generates reliable estimates of these properties.

Our approach can be used to clarify the respective contributions from the muscle and tendon to the net mechanics of a joint.

This is a critical step forward in the ultimate goal of understanding how muscles and tendons govern ankle impedance during posture and movement.