Relationships Between Gastrocnemius Medialis Muscle Architecture, Vertical Stiffness, and Vertical Jump Performance in Track and Field Athletes.
5 affiliations
- 1School of Athletic performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
- 2School of Computer Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
- 3Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- 4Science and Research Centre Koper, Institute for Kinesiology Research, 6000 Koper, Slovenia.
- 5Faculty of Sports Studies, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle architecture and vertical stiffness have been associated with vertical jump performance, but their relationships across jumping tasks with different stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) demands have not been well characterized. This exploratory study aimed to characterize the relationships of GM muscle architecture and Kvert with vertical jump performance in collegiate track and field athletes. Methods: Thirteen athletes (age: 21.62 ± 2.60 years; height: 1.82 ± 0.06 m; body mass: 74.72 ± 8.72 kg) completed squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and 30-cm drop jump (DJ-30) tests. GM muscle thickness (MT), pennation angle (PA), and estimated fascicle length (FL) were assessed using ultrasonography, and vertical stiffness (Kvert) was calculated from the CMJ. Results: Pearson correlation analyses identified positive correlations between GM PA and SJ peak force (r = 0.66, p = 0.01) and CMJ peak force (r = 0.56, p = 0.04), peak power (r = 0.62, p = 0.02), and jump height (r = 0.55, p = 0.04), while GM MT was positively correlated with CMJ peak velocity (r = 0.56, p = 0.04) and relative peak power (r = 0.62, p = 0.02). Kvert was also positively correlated with CMJ relative peak force (r = 0.62, p = 0.02). In contrast, no GM muscle architecture variables were significantly correlated with DJ-30 performance. However, none of these correlations remained statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Conclusions: The findings suggest that GM PA and MT may be more closely related to performance in jump tasks with no or slower SSC demands (SJ and CMJ) than to fast SSC tasks (DJ-30). These findings therefore provide preliminary information for further investigation of how different aspects of GM architecture relate to specific components of jumping performance, although confirmation in larger samples is still needed.
Related
- Relationships between reactive agility and athletic performance parameters: a preliminary study
- Implausible 100-400 m Performance Times and Inadequate Testing Distances Compromise the Estimation and Interpretation of Critical Velocity. Comment on Amara et al. Relationships Between Dry-Land Load-Velocity Parameters and In-Water Bioenergetic Performance in Competitive Swimmers. Sports 2026, 14, 11.
- Postural reeducation and oral device interaction in rhythmic gymnasts: effects of byte use on stiffness-related performance and low back pain perception
- Effects of vastus medialis oblique-focused and general quadriceps strengthening exercises on Q-angle and quadriceps strength in overweight and obese females: A randomized controlled trial
- Immediate gastrocnemius responses to intermittent cold compression at different pressure levels in soccer players
BibTeX
@article{tang2026relationships,
title = {{Relationships Between Gastrocnemius Medialis Muscle Architecture, Vertical Stiffness, and Vertical Jump Performance in Track and Field Athletes.}},
author = {Wenjing Tang and Zhenyu Peng and Heng Lu and Armin H Paravlić and Ran Wang},
journal = {Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/jfmk11040407},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924686},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Relationships Between Gastrocnemius Medialis Muscle Architecture, Vertical Stiffness, and Vertical Jump Performance in Track and Field Athletes.
AU - Wenjing Tang
AU - Zhenyu Peng
AU - Heng Lu
AU - Armin H Paravlić
AU - Ran Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology
DO - 10.3390/jfmk11040407
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924686
AB - Background and Objectives: Gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle architecture and vertical stiffness have been associated with vertical jump performance, but their relationships across jumping tasks with different stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) demands have not been well characterized. This exploratory study aimed to characterize the relationships of GM muscle architecture and Kvert with vertical jump performance in collegiate track and field athletes. Methods: Thirteen athletes (age: 21.62 ± 2.60 years; height: 1.82 ± 0.06 m; body mass: 74.72 ± 8.72 kg) completed squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and 30-cm drop jump (DJ-30) tests. GM muscle thickness (MT), pennation angle (PA), and estimated fascicle length (FL) were assessed using ultrasonography, and vertical stiffness (Kvert) was calculated from the CMJ. Results: Pearson correlation analyses identified positive correlations between GM PA and SJ peak force (r = 0.66, p = 0.01) and CMJ peak force (r = 0.56, p = 0.04), peak power (r = 0.62, p = 0.02), and jump height (r = 0.55, p = 0.04), while GM MT was positively correlated with CMJ peak velocity (r = 0.56, p = 0.04) and relative peak power (r = 0.62, p = 0.02). Kvert was also positively correlated with CMJ relative peak force (r = 0.62, p = 0.02). In contrast, no GM muscle architecture variables were significantly correlated with DJ-30 performance. However, none of these correlations remained statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Conclusions: The findings suggest that GM PA and MT may be more closely related to performance in jump tasks with no or slower SSC demands (SJ and CMJ) than to fast SSC tasks (DJ-30). These findings therefore provide preliminary information for further investigation of how different aspects of GM architecture relate to specific components of jumping performance, although confirmation in larger samples is still needed.
SN - 2411-5142
ER -