Ultrasonography
In this study, ultrasound images were used to evaluate the muscle thickness (MT), pennation angle (PA), and fascicle length (FL) in each participant’s dominant lower limb. The probe was positioned on the longitudinal axis of the VL, and a linear B-mode probe with a frequency range of 7.5 10 MHz was used at a depth of 8 cm (Sonus, DUO LCP). The probe was coated with a water-soluble gel to prevent skin pressure. Participants were seated with their knees flexed at 90° and instructed to relax their muscles at the time of measurement and avoid exercise for 48 h before the assessment. Measurements were taken at 50% of the distance between the greater trochanter and lateral condyle of the femur, and three images were captured at each site during the evaluation sessions. ImageJ software (ImageJ 1.42; National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,) was used to process and analyze the images, and MT was measured as the average distance between the superficial and deep aponeuroses. PA was measured as the angle between the fascicle and deep aponeurosis, and FL was calculated using the following formula: FL= sin(y+90°) × MT/sin(180°−(y+180°−PA)), where y is the angle between the superficial and deep aponeurosis, and AP is the pennation angle (