Lower Limb Mechanical Properties: Significant References Omitted

Excerpt

We read with attention the recent narrative literature review by Pearson and McMahon [1]. We were very surprised and quite disappointed by the amount of relevant literature omitted by the authors on lower limb mechanical properties and, specifically, how ‘limb stiffness’ could affect performance and risk of injury. Although this review focuses on muscle-tendon unit (MTU) stiffness, the more global vertical, leg and joint stiffness (i.e. referred to as limb stiffness, collectively) are also reviewed, as the authors assume that limb stiffness is primarily controlled by MTU stiffness. Limb stiffness is used to describe the overall lower limb system as a “functional index of the changes in either center of mass or segment angle with the application of force” [1] in the well accepted ‘spring-mass model’ [2‐4]. Therefore, we did not understand the choice made by the authors to cite only some of the references obtainable (n = 73) using the search strategy they describe, although (i) they mention that “MEDLINE was utilized as the database for all articles found in the literature…” and (ii) the Sports Medicine instructions to authors stipulate that review articles should be “fully referenced, with all agents of relevance to the topic discussed in order to provide full coverage of the area”. In our opinion, a review article is a unique opportunity for an exhaustive state of the art article and a sound basis for future research notably through the usual cross-reference and encyclopaedic process. We feel this opportunity has been missed and hereby list references omitted by the authors. The following references all appear through direct or simple cross-reference search strategies using the very same keywords as those listed by Pearson and McMahon [1]. Most of these references are published in high-ranked journals of the field ‘sport sciences’ [5], and even include review articles. For the sake of conciseness, we do not intend to provide an exhaustive list and, in order to be helpful to the reader, we list here some relevant references that would be worth appearing in various sections of Pearson and McMahon’s paper [1]. …