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SPECIFIC TENSION OF HUMAN MUSCLE IN VIVO: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

SPECIFIC TENSION OF HUMAN MUSCLE IN VIVO: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Lomas S Persad, Zheng Wang, Paula A Pino, Benjamin I Binder-Markey, Kenton R Kaufman and Richard L Lieber
Journal of applied physiology (1985), v 137(4)
22 Aug 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00296.2024
url
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11486478/View
Open

Abstract

joint torque magnetic resonance imaging muscle stress physiological cross-sectional area ultrasound
The intrinsic force production capability of human muscle can be expressed as "Specific Tension," or, the maximum force generated per cross-sectional area of muscle fibers. This value can be used to determine, for example, whether muscle quality changes during exercise, atrophy, disease, or hypertrophy. A value of 22.5 N/cm2 for mammalian muscle has generally become accepted based on detailed studies of small mammals. Determining the specific tension of human muscle is much more challenging since almost all determinations are indirect. Calculation of human muscle specific tension requires an understanding of that muscle's contribution to joint torque, its activation magnitude, tendon compliance, and joint moment arm. Determining any of these parameters is technically challenging in humans and thus, it is no surprise that human specific tension values reported vary from 2 to 73 N/cm2. In this systematic review, we screened 1,506 published papers and identified 29 studies published between 1983 and 2023 that used appropriate methods and which reported 95 human specific tension values. We have weighted each parameter based on whether it was directly measured, estimated, or calculated based on the literature, with decreasing weighting used for the more indirect methods. Based on this exhaustive review of the relevant human literature, we suggest that the most accurate value that should be used for human muscle specific tension is 26.8 N/cm2.The intrinsic force production capability of human muscle can be expressed as "Specific Tension," or, the maximum force generated per cross-sectional area of muscle fibers. This value can be used to determine, for example, whether muscle quality changes during exercise, atrophy, disease, or hypertrophy. A value of 22.5 N/cm2 for mammalian muscle has generally become accepted based on detailed studies of small mammals. Determining the specific tension of human muscle is much more challenging since almost all determinations are indirect. Calculation of human muscle specific tension requires an understanding of that muscle's contribution to joint torque, its activation magnitude, tendon compliance, and joint moment arm. Determining any of these parameters is technically challenging in humans and thus, it is no surprise that human specific tension values reported vary from 2 to 73 N/cm2. In this systematic review, we screened 1,506 published papers and identified 29 studies published between 1983 and 2023 that used appropriate methods and which reported 95 human specific tension values. We have weighted each parameter based on whether it was directly measured, estimated, or calculated based on the literature, with decreasing weighting used for the more indirect methods. Based on this exhaustive review of the relevant human literature, we suggest that the most accurate value that should be used for human muscle specific tension is 26.8 N/cm2.

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Domestic collaboration
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Web of Science research areas
Physiology
Sport Sciences
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