Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.

We focus on fine vibrations originating from tendons (Mechanotendography: MTG) as a novel method for quantifying muscle activity. Quantifying muscle activity using MTG can enable daily and long-term continuous measurements, which have been challenging for electromyography (EMG) and mechanomyography...

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Main Authors: Tatsuhiko Matsumoto, Yutaka Kano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312790
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author Tatsuhiko Matsumoto
Yutaka Kano
author_facet Tatsuhiko Matsumoto
Yutaka Kano
author_sort Tatsuhiko Matsumoto
collection DOAJ
description We focus on fine vibrations originating from tendons (Mechanotendography: MTG) as a novel method for quantifying muscle activity. Quantifying muscle activity using MTG can enable daily and long-term continuous measurements, which have been challenging for electromyography (EMG) and mechanomyography (MMG). However, the detailed trajectory of MTG increase relative to exerted muscle strength has not been clarified, nor has the mechanism of MTG generation. Our research has two objectives. The first is to clarify the detailed relationship between exerted muscle strength levels and MTG through statistical modeling. The second is to establish a highly accurate hypothesis concerning the mechanism of MTG generation based on the modeling results and physiological knowledge. We focused on the Achilles tendon to study these two objectives. Experiments were conducted on 62 participants, and MTG data were obtained at various levels of exerted muscle strength. The obtained data were structured into a longitudinal data format representing the trajectory of MTG increase with increasing exerted muscle strength. We used latent curve models (LCM) to identify this structure. By applying various LCMs to explore an optimal model, we found that the quadratic LCM received the best fit for females, while the piecewise linear LCM with a breakpoint at 50% exerted muscle strength received the best fit for males. Notably, a significant sex difference was observed in the rate of increase in MTG at low levels of exerted muscle strength. These results suggest that MTG is caused by fine vibrations generated by muscle fiber contractions, and these fine vibrations are transmitted to the tendons connected to the muscles, where they are observed. Future research will focus on verifying this hypothesis through increased time points and physiological experiments.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-33efb4e2ea134000862beb3a145a9ab42025-08-20T03:50:52ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01207e031279010.1371/journal.pone.0312790Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.Tatsuhiko MatsumotoYutaka KanoWe focus on fine vibrations originating from tendons (Mechanotendography: MTG) as a novel method for quantifying muscle activity. Quantifying muscle activity using MTG can enable daily and long-term continuous measurements, which have been challenging for electromyography (EMG) and mechanomyography (MMG). However, the detailed trajectory of MTG increase relative to exerted muscle strength has not been clarified, nor has the mechanism of MTG generation. Our research has two objectives. The first is to clarify the detailed relationship between exerted muscle strength levels and MTG through statistical modeling. The second is to establish a highly accurate hypothesis concerning the mechanism of MTG generation based on the modeling results and physiological knowledge. We focused on the Achilles tendon to study these two objectives. Experiments were conducted on 62 participants, and MTG data were obtained at various levels of exerted muscle strength. The obtained data were structured into a longitudinal data format representing the trajectory of MTG increase with increasing exerted muscle strength. We used latent curve models (LCM) to identify this structure. By applying various LCMs to explore an optimal model, we found that the quadratic LCM received the best fit for females, while the piecewise linear LCM with a breakpoint at 50% exerted muscle strength received the best fit for males. Notably, a significant sex difference was observed in the rate of increase in MTG at low levels of exerted muscle strength. These results suggest that MTG is caused by fine vibrations generated by muscle fiber contractions, and these fine vibrations are transmitted to the tendons connected to the muscles, where they are observed. Future research will focus on verifying this hypothesis through increased time points and physiological experiments.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312790
spellingShingle Tatsuhiko Matsumoto
Yutaka Kano
Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.
PLoS ONE
title Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.
title_full Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.
title_fullStr Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.
title_full_unstemmed Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.
title_short Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models.
title_sort increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion a longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312790
work_keys_str_mv AT tatsuhikomatsumoto increasetrajectoriesoftendonmicrovibrationintensityduringankleplantarflexionalongitudinaldataanalysisusinglatentcurvemodels
AT yutakakano increasetrajectoriesoftendonmicrovibrationintensityduringankleplantarflexionalongitudinaldataanalysisusinglatentcurvemodels