For the coming three years, the German Research Foundation (DFG) will be supporting a project at the Department of Biomechanics in Sports of Prof. Dr. Ansgar Schwirtz. The project of Dr. Wolfgang Seiberl, involving an examination of the stretch-shortening cycle of the human musculature, will receive funding until 2020. The Department will cooperate with the Ruhr University in Bochum (Department of Teaching and Research in Movement Science, Prof. Dr. Daniel Hahn) as well as with the University of Stuttgart (Department of Movement and Training Science, Prof. Dr. Tobias Siebert).
The stretch-shortening cycle is the most frequently occurring form of action from the human musculature. "It consists of an eccentric contraction of the active muscle followed by a muscle contraction. The muscles of the thigh, for example, go through the substeps when walking, running and jumping," explains Professor Schwirtz. The Dean of the Department of Sport and Health Science is a counselor for Dr. Seiberl's habilitation.
Investigation of "Force Enhancement"
"Still a hardly illuminated mechanism in the stretch-shortening cycle is the so-called 'Force Enhancement'. The muscle has greater strength after the extension phase, which, according to our classical understanding of the musculature, should not actually be the case. In addition, there is increased efficiency at the same time with a reduced energy consumption," describes Seiberl, the manager of the project. The effect could already be proven worldwide in numerous scientific studies and has been well known for more than 50 years. However, an investigation of what the cause is for this has not yet been carried out in full.
In order to generate new findings, cooperation was initiated with the institutes at the universities of Bochum and Stuttgart. "So far, for the investigation of the stretch-shortening cycle, more one-sided perspectives were selected," explains Seiberl. The cooperation of the three universities makes it possible to obtain a multidisciplinary view of the underlying mechanisms.
In-depth Understanding of Human Movement
The researchers of the TUM focus on the analysis of the muscle-tendon complex and the storage and delivery of elastic energy in these. The Stuttgart team of Prof. Siebert examines the processes on a cell-biological level. Prof. Hahn and his colleagues in Bochum regard the cycle from a viewpoint of the neural control of the musculature.
A goal of the project is to obtain an in-depth understanding of human movement. "With it we want to understand already well-known mechanisms better and to uncover interactions of the less clearly understood mechanisms," according to Seiberl. Results could also become interesting for humanoid stimuli within the fields of medical technology, robotics and prosthetics.
To the Homepage of the Department of Biomechanics in Sport
To the Homepage of the Department of Movement and Training Sciences at the University of Stuttgart
To the Homepage of the Deutschen Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG)
Contact
Dr. Wolfgang Seiberl
Department of Biomechanics in Sport
Uptown Munich, Campus D
Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62
80992 Munich
Telephone: 089 289 24585
E-Mail: Wolfgang.Seiberl(at)tum.de
Text: Fabian Kautz
Photos: DFG/Seiberl