Figure 1

Time course of the different global 3D strain components (from top to bottom, longitudinal, circumferential, principal and secondary) for the 3 groups reported as mean (black line) plus/ minus standard deviation (shaded gray). Longitudinal, circumferential and principal global strain curves are very similar in the three groups, with a noticeable small increase of circumferential strain in athletes. The secondary strain is markedly different, in particular the pre-stretch at the onset of contraction is reduced resulting in a higher end-systolic values.