Understanding Muscle Energetics in Locomotion: New Modeling and Experimental Approaches

UMBERGER, B.R. and J. RUBENSON. Understanding muscle energetics in locomotion: new modeling and experimental approaches. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev., Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 59-67, 2011. Recent estimates of muscle energy consumption during locomotion, based on computational models and muscle blood flow measurements, demonstrate complex patterns of energy use across the gait cycle, which are further complicated when task demands change. A deeper understanding of muscle energetics in locomotion will benefit from efforts to more tightly integrate muscle-specific approaches with organismal measurements.