Eccentric activation and muscle damage: biomechanical and physiological considerations during downhill running.
Open accessAbstract
An eccentric muscle activation is the controlled lengthening of the muscle under tension. Functionally, most leg muscles work eccentrically for some part of a normal gait cycle, to support the weight of the body against gravity and to absorb shock. During downhill running the role of eccentric work of the 'anti-gravity' muscles--knee extensors, muscles of the anterior and posterior tibial compartments and hip extensors--is accentuated. The purpose of this paper is to review the relationship between eccentric muscle activation and muscle damage, particularly as it relates to running, and specifically, downhill running.
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Prolonged or strenuous exercise, particularly that to which the individual is unaccustomed, can result in muscle damage attributed to metabolic overload and/or mechanical strain.
“Prolonged or strenuous exercise, particularly that to which the individual is unaccustomed, can result in muscle damage attributed to metabolic overload and/or mechanical strain [56].”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: nutritional considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing (2019) · cites this paper as [56]
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Tiller, N. B., Roberts, J. D., Beasley, L., Chapman, S., Pinto, J. M., Smith, L., Wiffin, M., Russell, M., Sparks, S. A., Duckworth, L., et al. (2019) · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · doi:10.1186/s12970-019-0312-9 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Eston, R. G., Mickleborough, J., & Baltzopoulos, V
- Affiliations
- Bangor University (GB)
- Venue
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 1995-06
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 89-94
- ISSN
- 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-0480
- PMC
- PMC1332286
- OpenAlex
- W2116623374
- Cited by
- 161
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 1.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Lower Extremity Biomechanics and Pathologies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Keywords
- muscle damage, downhill running, running, knee extensors, tibial muscle, hip extensors, shock absorption, gait cycle
- MeSH terms
- Biomechanical Phenomena, Gravitation, Hip, Humans, Knee, Leg, Muscle Contraction, Running, Stress, Mechanical, Tibia, Muscle, Skeletal
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