Abstract Archive

In this study, we explored and verified a simple approach to simultaneously penalize both muscle activation and joint contact loads within OpenSim. By adding additional degrees of freedom (DOF) to a joint of interest and providing sufficient strength for “contact” actuators along these DOF, we d...

The aim of this study was to investigate the site- and joint angle- dependence in the elastic properties of the iliotibial band (ITB). The stiffness of ITB was measured on five sites of the right lower limb with nine combinations of hip and knee joint angles using ultrasound shear wave elastography ...

The human gait dynamics in sagittal plane can be reproduced by a spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model. If the center of mass (CoM) dynamics in frontal plane are describable by spring-mass dynamics, 3D expansion of the SLIP model will be valid. In this paper, we described CoM dynamics of fron...

People reach with smooth hand trajectories, which are thought to facilitate accuracy [1]. Smoothness predicts trajectories well, but appears incompatible with physiological criteria such as metabolic cost, whose known contributors tend to predict overly jerky movements. This incompatibility might be...

The study aimed to quantify measurement errors in knee joint translations owing to soft tissue artefacts and test the linearity of the errors against the flexion angle. Results showed that the errors were largely proportional to the flexion angles, which may be compensated.

The average energy consumption of children with cerebral palsy (CP) during walking is over two times that of typically-developing (TD) children. Spasticity is often theorized to contribute to this increased energy. We retrospectively analyzed energy consumption of individuals who underwent surgical ...

Experiments have shown that humans walking on a treadmill strongly prioritize speed regulation from one stride to the next. Why this is so and what implications, if any, this has for fall risk is an open question. Here, we study the relationship between task-level regulation and global stability in ...

Concussions in youth sport are predictable and preventable. Research evaluating concussion prevention strategies to reduce the burden of injury in youth sport will be presented. Research presented will include original research findings evaluating prevention strategies in youth sport and highlights ...

The purpose of the study was to assess the accuracy of measuring knee kinematics using 3D fluoroscopy with statistical shape models (SSM) of the bones to minimize radiation. The accuracy was determined by comparing results between SSM and CT bone models. The results showed that 3D knee kinematics us...

The complex anatomy of the neck creates uncertainty regarding how the central nervous system (CNS) activates individual muscles to stabilize the neck in 3-D. The CNS can tune both the activation and mechanics of muscle to preferred directions where the muscle maximally contributes to stability. In t...

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an atherosclerotic disease affecting the arteries of the legs [1]. The current study evaluated if a single walking session is sufficient for patients with PAD to adapt to a passive ankle foot orthosis (AFO). Twelve subjects performed a standardized progressive load...

We examined situational factors associated with the frequency and severity of head impacts in men’s varsity ice hockey, through analysis of 409 head impacts captured through video and helmet-mounted sensors. We found that the most common scenarios were head impact to the glass or hand of an opposi...

Through the use of a new wearable slip perturbation device, this work probes whether the timing of an unconstrained slip during the stance phase of gait influences a number of slip characteristics and the compensatory step taken in response. We found that the onset time of a slip correlates signific...

Socioeconomic status has been shown to impact health and health care accessibility in people with lower limb loss [1]. We aim to evaluate specifically how physical activity behaviour and capacity are influenced by socioeconomic status in this population. In the 23 participants, we found that individ...

Soft tissues throughout the human body are known to perform negative work (i.e., energy absorption) through wobbling and deforming, particularly following foot impacts with the ground (e.g., in walking). But it is not known which tissues/locations in the body are responsible for most of this soft ti...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common metabolic disorder worldwide that might be associated with peripheral neuropathy (DPN). This study aimed to compare the spatiotemporal and impulse characteristics of DM and DPN patients during gait. Using electrodiagnostic test, DPN patients were distinguish...

While a human’s preferred walking speed is understood to arise from energy optimization, energy criteria alone do not explain how task-level requirements such as speed regulation are maintained in the presence of neuromotor noise and motor redundancy. Here, we employ a 3D dynamic walking model and...

Stair falls are a major problem for older people. The present study: a) applied a novel multivariate approach to characterize the overall stair behaviour while ascending and descending stairs and b) investigated whether the selected stepping behaviour was maintained irrespective of step dimensions. ...

Falls among the elderly (aged ≥ 65) occur frequently and result in high injury and mortality rates. To reduce falls, it is critical to understand how older adults regulate stepping to maintain lateral balance while walking. Here, we compared how healthy young and older adults regulate stepping mov...

Vertical stiffness (Kv) of the runners was calculated using inertial sensing unit during marathon race. The good runner showed consistent step variables, but the runner decreased running speed showed decrease in Kv earlier or later of decrease in running speed. It is suggested that Kv might be an in...

Simulation studies of human gait often model a single subject. Here we show that categorically different results from the population-level result were seen in 36% of N = 200 simulated subjects, including the "average" subject, when simulating the metabolic cost of walking with transtibial limb los...

To confirm the existence of epimuscular myofascial force transmission in humans and function of skin as the medium of it, this study examined if manipulation of the length of the distal extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL) can alter the distal and proximal tendon forces of the adjacent peroneus lo...

Return to sport testing is commonly used to assess the strength and function of athletes post anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). It is understood that kinematic asymmetries may predispose an athlete to poorer function or reinjury risk. The current study showed minimal interlimb differ...

Developing a method to quantify and improve the “fit” of a prosthetic socket would presumably enhance the function of a person with a transfemoral amputation (TFA). Previous studies have found a correlation between increased socket pistoning, the movement of a prosthetic socket relative to the r...

I loved Space Camp 1983

Carrying a loaded backpack in combat situations is highly prevalent in military environments. In this study we aim to analyse the spatiotemporal gait adaptations in men and women belonging to the Spanish Army as they carry their combat backpack. Based on the spatiotemporal gait analysis, men and wom...

We measured self-reported low back pain (LBP), thorax-pelvis (TP) relative angles and lumbar-pelvis (LP) relative angles as people with a transtibial amputation (TTA) walked with leg length discrepancies (LLDs) of ±20 mm. TP and LP angles were similarly affected by LLDs in the frontal and transvers...

Sit-stand desks (SSD’s) are increasing in popularity, however many people are standing intolerant (SI) due to low back pain (LBP) and this may be a barrier for use. People with LBP have fewer weight shifts in standing compared with more active standing in healthy people. Sedentary office workers, ...

Stability is a key feature of posture plausibility in digital human models (DHM). Stepping is a behavioral mechanism to ensure the stability of the body. The aim of this study is to propose a novel stepping behavior in the presence or absence of external loads, which ensures the stability of a DHM. ...

Last decade, a shift towards operative treatment of midshaft clavicular fractures has been observed [1]. Although plate osteosynthesis is supported by scientific evidence, mechanical requirements are absent [2]. The goal of this study was to compare the strength of a commercial and a low-profile pat...