Prestress revealed by passive co-tension at the ankle joint

This study was designed to test the assumption that elastic tissues of the ankle are prestressed, by investigating the presence of simultaneous opposite passive elastic moments and thus, passive co-tension, at the ankle joint. A prestressed two-spring model used to generate qualitative predictions of the effects of stretching the posterior elastic structures of the ankle on the net passive moment of this joint was used. Twenty-seven healthy individuals were subjected to passive evaluation of the net elastic moment of the ankle in the sagittal plane, with the knee positioned at 90°, 60°, 30° and 0° of flexion, in order to change the length of the posterior biarticular elastic structures. The placement of the knee in the more extended positions caused changes in the net passive moment as predicted by the prestressed model. The ankle position in which the net passive moment was equal to zero was shifted to more plantar flexed positions (p<0.001) and there was a global increase in ankle stiffness since both passive dorsiflexion stiffness (p≤0.037) and passive plantar flexion stiffness (p≤0.029) increased. The normalized terminal plantar flexion stiffness also increased (p≤0.047), suggesting that biarticular posterior elastic structures are pre-strained and still under tension when the ankle is maximally plantar flexed and the knee is positioned at 60° of flexion. Resting positions were indicative of equilibrium between opposite passive elastic moments. The results revealed that there is passive co-tension at the ankle, demonstrating the existence of prestress in elastic structures of this joint.