Normative Achilles and patellar tendon shear wave speeds and loading patterns during walking in typically developing children.

The study included only twelve typically developing children, so the normative data range may not represent the broader pediatric population. Measurements were taken on a treadmill, which may differ subtly from overground walking. The calibration assumptions (e.g., negligible antagonist co-contraction during specific gait phases) may not hold true for children with gait disorders, potentially affecting absolute force estimates. The Achilles tensiometer may primarily reflect the medial gastrocnemius subtendon, possibly missing non-uniform loading across the entire triceps surae.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (Extramural). No specific commercial conflicts of interest were declared in the text, though the authors hold patents or intellectual property related to the tensiometry technology (implied by 'Our group has introduced...' and patent citations in references, though not explicitly stated as a COI in the provided text snippets).

Do not assume these absolute tendon force values are directly transferable to clinical patients with gait disorders. The calibration methods relied on assumptions about muscle activity that may not hold in cases of spasticity or co-contraction, meaning the technique is currently best used for relative comparisons within a subject or against this specific normative baseline rather than as a standalone diagnostic measure of force.