Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of swimming exercise, without overloading,
on the biomechanical parameters of the calcaneal tendon of rats. 27 male Wistar rats
(70 days) were distributed randomly into 2 groups, Control Group (CG; n=15) with restricted
movements inside the cage and Swimming Group (SG; n=12), subjected to exercise training
in a tank with a water temperature of 30±1°C, for 1 h/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks.
All animals were kept in a reversed light/dark cycle of 12 h with access to food and
water ad libitum. After that, they were anesthetized and had their calcaneus tendons collected from
their left rear paws. The tendon was submitted to a mechanical test on a conventional
test machine. From the stress vs. strain curve, the biomechanical data were analyzed.
For the statistical analysis, the Student-T test was used (p<0.05). Of the variables
examined, the maximum tension (p=0.009), maximum force (p=0.03), energy of deformation/tendon
cross sectional area (p=0.017) and elastic modulus of the tendon (p=0.013) showed
positive outcomes in SG. There was no difference in the other parameters. The results
indicate that the swimming exercise training, without overloading, was an important
stimulus for improving the biomechanical parameters and structural properties of the
calcaneal tendon.
Key words
exercise - biomechanics - animal model - connective tissue
