Supplementary Material for: Reduced Achilles Tendon Stiffness Disrupts Calf Muscle Neuromechanics in Elderly Gait

Older adults walk slower and with a higher metabolic energy expenditure than younger adults. In this review, we explore the hypothesis that age-related declines in Achilles tendon stiffness increase the metabolic cost of walking due to less economical calf muscle contractions and increased proximal joint work. This viewpoint may motivate interventions to restore ankle muscle-tendon stiffness, improve walking mechanics, and reduce metabolic cost in older adults.

与年轻成年人相比，老年人行走速度更慢，代谢能量消耗更高。在本综述中，我们探讨了如下假说：与年龄相关的跟腱（Achilles tendon）僵硬度降低，会因小腿肌肉收缩经济性下降以及近端关节做功增加，提升行走的代谢成本。该观点可为相关干预研究提供指引，旨在恢复老年人的踝肌-肌腱僵硬度、改善行走力学机制，并降低其行走的代谢成本。