In situ muscle pre-activation shifts the lateral gastrocnemius muscle–tendon unit to rely on active fascicle lengthening to absorb peak power input

Muscle-tendon units (MTUs) tend to exploit their elastic elements to meet a range of energy-absorption and power input demands, but the extent of this may depend on how the muscle produces force. Muscle pre-activation is a habitual strategy observed in vivo during energy-absorbing demands, but it remains a question whether pre-activation alters the power input demands among elastic elements and muscle fascicles. To determine the effect of pre-activation on peak power input demands, we conducted in situ experiments using sonomicrometry and a linear actuator to simulate a pre-activation strategy in the lateral gastrocnemius MTU of wild turkeys (n=6). Onset timing of muscle activation was manipulated to start (1) simultaneously with or (2) before an active MTU stretch (i.e. no pre-activation versus with pre-activation). During MTU stretch, we quantified a peak power input decoupling ratio to determine the relative power input between muscle fascicles and elastic elements. We found that muscle pre-activation decreased the decoupling ratio (mean±s.d., 0.68±0.09 versus 0.56±0.11; P=0.015; Cohen's d=1.49), signifying that muscle fascicles absorbed a greater percentage of total MTU peak power input. We also found that the MTU generated greater force with pre-activation by relying more on active fascicle lengthening during the late phase of MTU stretch, which allowed for greater peak power input capacity of the MTU. These findings highlight how a simple shift in muscle activation timing can prime the MTU to deal with greater peak power input during energy-absorbing activities.