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Applied Sciences
Volume 15
Issue 13
10.3390/app15136986
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Acute Heterogeneous Changes in Muscle and Tendon Viscoelastic Properties Following a VO₂max Treadmill Test in High-Level Male Soccer Players

by
Karol Skotniczny
1,
Artur Terbalyan
1,
Michał Krzysztofik
1,2,*,
Robert Roczniok
1,
Miłosz Drozd
1,
Łukasz Radzimiński
3 and
Jakub Jarosz
1
1
Institute of Sport Sciences, Academy of Physical Education, 40-065 Katowice, Poland
2
Department of Sport Games, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University in Prague, 162 52 Prague, Czech Republic
3
Department of Physiology, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(13), 6986; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15136986
Submission received: 13 May 2025 / Revised: 14 June 2025 / Accepted: 19 June 2025 / Published: 20 June 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sport Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the acute changes in muscle and tendon viscoelastic properties in response to a progressive treadmill VO2max test among professional male soccer players. Methods: Bilateral assessments at five sites—the Achilles tendon (AT), biceps femoris, semitendinosus, rectus femoris (RF), and sternocleidomastoid (SCM)—measured tone (oscillation frequency), dynamic stiffness, logarithmic decrement (elasticity), stress relaxation time, and creep. Each site was probed five times and values averaged. Repeated-measures ANOVA (Time × Side) with Bonferroni correction tested pre- to post-exercise changes; Pearson’s r examined associations with VO2max. Results: Significant Time effects (all p < 0.05) were observed for RF frequency (ηp2 = 0.226), RF creep (ηp2 = 0.144), AT stiffness (ηp2 ≈ 0.035), AT frequency (ηp2 = 0.035), and SCM frequency (ηp2 = 0.037). Post-exercise, right AT stiffness fell by 65 ± 14 N/m (p = 0.015), while left AT stiffness rose by 22 ± 9 N/m (p = 0.015). RF stiffness decreased by 28 ± 6 N/m (p < 0.001) and tone by 1.2 ± 0.3 Hz (p < 0.001), with creep (+0.08 ± 0.02; p < 0.001) and relaxation time (+1.5 ± 0.7 ms; p < 0.001) increasing. SCM tone declined by 0.8 ± 0.4 Hz (p = 0.010). Baseline RF properties—frequency (r = −0.597), stiffness (r = −0.59), relaxation time (r = 0.53), and creep (r = 0.48)—correlated moderately with VO2max (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that viscoelastic adaptations to exhaustive aerobic exercise are tissue- and side-specific, and that rectus femoris viscoelastic properties may serve as potential indicators of endurance readiness.
Keywords: aerobic capacity; muscle stiffness; portable myometry; running; football aerobic capacity; muscle stiffness; portable myometry; running; football

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MDPI and ACS Style

Skotniczny, K.; Terbalyan, A.; Krzysztofik, M.; Roczniok, R.; Drozd, M.; Radzimiński, Ł.; Jarosz, J. Acute Heterogeneous Changes in Muscle and Tendon Viscoelastic Properties Following a VO₂max Treadmill Test in High-Level Male Soccer Players. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 6986. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15136986

AMA Style

Skotniczny K, Terbalyan A, Krzysztofik M, Roczniok R, Drozd M, Radzimiński Ł, Jarosz J. Acute Heterogeneous Changes in Muscle and Tendon Viscoelastic Properties Following a VO₂max Treadmill Test in High-Level Male Soccer Players. Applied Sciences. 2025; 15(13):6986. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15136986

Chicago/Turabian Style

Skotniczny, Karol, Artur Terbalyan, Michał Krzysztofik, Robert Roczniok, Miłosz Drozd, Łukasz Radzimiński, and Jakub Jarosz. 2025. "Acute Heterogeneous Changes in Muscle and Tendon Viscoelastic Properties Following a VO₂max Treadmill Test in High-Level Male Soccer Players" Applied Sciences 15, no. 13: 6986. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15136986

APA Style

Skotniczny, K., Terbalyan, A., Krzysztofik, M., Roczniok, R., Drozd, M., Radzimiński, Ł., & Jarosz, J. (2025). Acute Heterogeneous Changes in Muscle and Tendon Viscoelastic Properties Following a VO₂max Treadmill Test in High-Level Male Soccer Players. Applied Sciences, 15(13), 6986. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15136986

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