Eccentric contractions: Applications of the hypothsesis

Muscle tears.

Gross muscle tears, as distinct from the microscopic damage normally associated with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness following eccentric contraction, also usually occur during an eccentric contraction at long muscle length. The following movie shows a footballer kicking. The quadraceps muscle group, or knee extensors on the top of the thigh, are active (red) early in the swing, during the acceleration phase. They udergo a concentric or shortening contraction. The hamstring group (knee flexors and hip extensors) underneath the thigh are relaxed (pink) during the acceleration phase, but active (red) to decelerate or brake the leg at the end of the swing. At this point they are doing an eccentric contraction at long length.

This leads to the hypothesis that eccentric training, to prevent DOMS may also protect against muscle tears. The idea is that the microscopic damage areas in DOMS may provide the initiating point for a gross muscle tear.

Ideopathic toe walkers.