Figure 3

Example of tendon stiffness and hysteresis deduction from the load-deformation curve. Stiffness (broken thick line) was calculated as the slope of the ascending limb (solid line) of the force-elongation curve between 10-80% of MVC. Hysteresis was calculated as the area between the ascending (solid line) and descending limb (dash-dot line). MVC = maximum voluntary contraction.