Architecture of lower leg muscles in children: Reference curves and potential mechanisms of growth
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Childhood muscle growth primarily increases lower leg muscle volume through widening, not lengthening, with significant changes in physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) and fascicle length from ages 5-15. These findings offer normative data for pediatric muscle development.
Area Of Science
- Pediatric musculoskeletal development
- Human anatomy and physiology
- Biomechanical engineering
Background
- Muscle architecture parameters like physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), fascicle length, and pennation angle undergo significant changes during childhood.
- Existing research on pediatric muscle architecture is limited, often focusing on small samples and narrow age ranges, lacking comprehensive developmental analysis.
Purpose Of The Study
- To establish age- and sex-conditional reference curves for the architectural parameters of seven lower leg muscles in typically developing children aged 5-15 years.
- To provide a comprehensive analysis of muscle architectural parameter distribution throughout childhood development.
- To investigate the mechanisms underlying childhood muscle growth.
Main Methods
- Utilized anatomical and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify the 3D architecture of seven lower leg muscles in 192 children (aged 5-15).
- Employed quantile regression with b-splines to estimate muscle- and sex-specific reference curves for PCSA, fascicle lengths, and pennation angles.
- Analyzed aponeurosis dimensions and their relationship with muscle architecture.
Main Results
- Muscle volume increases primarily via transverse (PCSA) growth rather than longitudinal (fascicle length) growth, particularly after age 5.
- Median PCSA increased 3.0-4.7 times and fascicle length 1.1-1.7 times between ages 5 and 15.
- Significant overlap in architectural parameter distributions was observed between sexes across all ages.
- Longitudinal growth of muscle-tendon units is mediated by intramuscular aponeuroses lengthening, with surface area scaling proportionally to PCSA.
Conclusions
- The developed reference curves provide normative data for lower leg muscle architecture in children.
- Childhood lower leg muscle growth is characterized by significant increases in transverse dimensions (PCSA) and moderate increases in fascicle length.
- Intramuscular aponeuroses play a key role in facilitating longitudinal growth of muscle-tendon units during childhood.
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