Using a modified vector coding technique to describe the calcaneus-shank coupling relationship during unanticipated changes of direction: theoretical implications for prophylactic ACL strategies.

Shank rotation is associated with increased risk in lower limb injuries of weight-bearing sport activity. Straight-line running injury prevention research proposes a 'bottom-up' approach to minimising injury risk to the knee. This prophylactic recommendation is due to the observed distal-proximal coupling relationship between rearfoot and shank rotations.

Development of An Anybody Musculoskeletal Model of The Thoroughbred Forelimb.

Musculoskeletal injuries in horses are the main cause of retirement, rest, and death. To understand these injuries, it is necessary to study loads in muscles, tendons and ligaments. A musculoskeletal model makes it possible to consider all structures simultaneously and avoids invasive measurements.

Use of a Collar-Mounted Triaxial Accelerometer to Predict Speed and Gait in Dogs.

Accelerometry has been used to measure treatment efficacy in dogs with osteoarthritis, although interpretation is difficult. Simplification of the output into speed or gait categories could simplify interpretation. We aimed to determine whether collar-mounted accelerometry could estimate the speed and categorise dogs' gait on a treadmill.

A Novel Load Cell-Supported Research Platform to Measure Vertical and Horizontal Motion of a Horse's Centre of Mass During Trailer Transport.

During transport, horses are subjected to acceleration in three dimensions, rapid braking, turning, noise, and other stressors. The animal's ability to make postural corrections may be insufficient to prevent injury or distress, and so knowledge of the compensatory motion patterns of the horse in the trailer is a necessary precondition for smart design of transport systems. A custom two-horse trailer was built for this project.

The coordination patterns of the foot segments in relation to lateral ankle sprain injury mechanism during unanticipated changes of direction.

Preventing lateral ankle sprain injuries (LAS) in females competing in court sports is a high priority, as an athlete's risk for re-injury and developing long term dysfunction increases significantly after sustaining an acute LAS. Stability to the ankle joint is passively provided by the joint congruity and ligaments, and actively by the muscles acting on the foot. The ankle joint is most stable when loaded and dorsiflexed.

Foot Muscle Strengthening and Lower Limb Injury Prevention.

: The active and passive structures of the foot act in unison to not only be compliant enough to assist in ground reaction force attenuation but also resist deformation to provide a stable base of support. A foot that is unable to adjust to the imposed demands during high-intensity sporting activities may alter the moments and forces acting on the joints, increasing the risk of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament ruptures (ACLR) and lateral ankle sprains (LAS). Prophylactic strengthening programs are often used to reduce the risk of these injuries, but at present, very few prophylactic programs include foot-specific strengthening strategies.

Elastic properties of collateral and sesamoid ligaments in the forelimbs of equine cadavers.

Objective: To evaluate the elastic modulus of various ligaments of the forelimbs of cadaveric horses.

Sample: 408 ligaments from 37 forelimbs of 10 Thoroughbred cadavers and cadavers of 9 other horse breeds.

Procedures: Collateral ligaments and straight and oblique sesamoid ligaments were harvested from the proximal interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal, carpal, and elbow joints of both forelimbs of all 19 horses.

A review of the cellular and molecular effects of extracorporeal shockwave therapy.

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a novel therapeutic modality and its use in promoting connective tissue repair and analgesic effect has been advocated in the literature. It is convenient, cost-effective, and has negligible complications; it therefore bypasses many of the problems associated with surgical interventions. This paper reviews the proposed mechanisms of action in promoting tissue repair and regeneration as well as analysing its efficacy providing an analgesic effect in clinical applications.

Patellar instability and quadriceps avoidance affect walking knee moments.

Purpose: To classify patients with patellofemoral (PF) instability on the basis of their mechanical gait characteristics, and to relate gait deficits to patellofemoral congruence.

Methods: Thirteen patients awaiting patellar stabilisation surgery were recruited for gait analysis and magnetic resonance imaging, MRI assessment of PF congruence. Patients were grouped into two subgroups (P1, P2) based on knee joint moment during stance, and their total support moments (TSMs) during stance were compared against eight healthy Control subjects.

Associations between hoof shape and the position of the frontal plane ground reaction force vector in walking horses.

Aims: To determine the frontal plane position of the ground reaction force vector at its centre of pressure under the hoof of walking horses, and its projection through the distal limb joints, and to relate this to hoof geometric measurements.

Methods: Reflective markers were glued to the forelimb hooves and skin of 26 horses, over palpable landmarks representing centres of the coffin, fetlock and carpal joints, and the dorsal toe at its most distal point. A 4-camera kinematic system recorded the position of these markers as the horse walked in hand across a force platform, to generate a frontal plane representation of the ground reaction force vector passing between the markers at the joints.

Total knee replacement in a dog with a non-union type B3 tibial plateau fracture.

A six-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer was presented with a 12 month history of left pelvic limb lameness following trauma. Clinical examination revealed marked thickening and reduced range-of-motion of the left stifle and radiographs were suggestive of a non-union type B3 tibial plateau fracture with severe secondary osteoarthritis. Total knee replacement was performed with adjunctive stabilization of the proximal tibial fracture fragment.

A novel method for defining the Greyhound talocrural joint axis of rotation for hinged transarticular external skeletal fixation.

In order to apply hinged transarticular external skeletal fixation for stabilization of the injured canine tarsal joint, knowledge of the three-dimensional (3D) location and orientation of the transverse axis is necessary. This method of immobilization may be used as a primary or adjunctive method of stabilisation for a large number of traumatic conditions. Using pin-mounted markers in the cadaveric Greyhound crus and talus, a closed-form solution of absolute orientation was used to identify, on radiographs, the lateral and medial locations of the transverse axis by tracking the 3D excursions of the markers during flexion and extension.

An ex vivo investigation of the effect of the TATE canine elbow arthroplasty system on kinematics of the elbow.

Objective: To devise a kinematic technique to objectively ascertain the location and orientation of the centre of rotation of the canine elbow and to compare this axis following arthroplasty with the first generation TATE™ prosthesis in an ex vivo model.

Methods: Five pairs of cadaveric forelimbs were obtained and proximal limb soft tissues removed. Pin-mounted reflective markers were applied to the humerus and ulna.

Lame broiler chickens respond to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with objective changes in gait function: a controlled clinical trial.

Leg health of intensively reared broiler chickens is a significant problem, yet little is known regarding the nature of lameness-associated pain. Kinematic changes in gait have been reported in naturally lame broilers following subcutaneous non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) administration, compared to a placebo group. In the current study, an extensive range of gait parameters were defined using a commercial motion-capturing system to record three-dimensional temporospatial information from walking broilers pre- and post-treatment.

Kinematic analysis quantifies gait abnormalities associated with lameness in broiler chickens and identifies evolutionary gait differences.

This is the first time that gait characteristics of broiler (meat) chickens have been compared with their progenitor, jungle fowl, and the first kinematic study to report a link between broiler gait parameters and defined lameness scores. A commercial motion-capturing system recorded three-dimensional temporospatial information during walking. The hypothesis was that the gait characteristics of non-lame broilers (n = 10) would be intermediate to those of lame broilers (n = 12) and jungle fowl (n = 10, tested at two ages: immature and adult).

Inverse dynamics analysis evaluation of tibial tuberosity advancement for cranial cruciate ligament failure in dogs.

Objective: To evaluate, using inverse dynamic analysis, the biomechanical outcome from tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) surgery in dogs affected by unilateral cranial cruciate ligament failure (CCLF).

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: Dogs (n = 13) 11-20 months after surgery.

Conservative versus arthroscopic management for medial coronoid process disease in dogs: a prospective gait evaluation.

Objective: To investigate, using objective gait analysis, the long-term outcome of dogs with medial coronoid process disease (MCPD) treated with conservative management (CM) versus arthroscopic treatment (AT).

Study Design: Prospective clinical trial.

Animals: Dogs (n = 20) with unilaterally confirmed MCPD.

Horizontal moment around the hoof centre of pressure during walking on right and left circles.

Reasons For Performing Study: Recent research indicates that the digital joints experience some degree of extrasagittal motion during stance and that the moments under the hoof are asymmetric in horses walking in a straight line. On a circle, these have not been defined.

Objectives: To quantify the amplitude and symmetry of horizontal twisting moments around the vertical axis through the hoof's centre of pressure on left and right circles at walk.

Symmetry of hind limb mechanics in orthopedically normal trotting Labrador Retrievers.

Objective: To evaluate symmetry of the hind limbs in orthopedically normal trotting dogs. Animals-19 orthopedically normal Labrador Retrievers with no history of lameness.

Procedures: Retroreflective markers were applied to the hind limb joints, and a 4-camera kinematic system captured positional data at 200 Hz in tandem with force platform data collection while the dogs trotted.

Horizontal moment around the hoof's centre of pressure during walking in a straight line.

Reasons For Performing Study: Joint congruity and ligaments restrain the distal limb joints from excessive motion in the transverse and frontal planes, but the magnitudes and direction of the horizontal twisting moments around the hoof's centre of pressure (CoP) that induce these motions are unknown.

Objectives: To quantify the horizontal moment around the vertical axis through the hoof's CoP at walk, and to determine whether these are symmetric.

Methods: Nine sound Thoroughbred horses (mean age 53 years; mean mass 502 kg) were led at walk in a straight line across a Kistler force platform.

Can owners and clinicians assess outcome in dogs with fragmented medial coronoid process?

Objectives: To investigate the long term reliability of clinician and owner visual analogue score (VAS) for dogs with unilateral forelimb lameness attributable to fragmented medial coronoid process (FMCP) when compared to objective gait analysis.

Methods: Nine dogs with unilateral thoracic limb lameness due to FMCP underwent inverse dynamics gait analysis at initial presentation, and at one, two, six and 12 months following diagnosis. Total support moments were calculated and a total support moment ratio (TSMR) derived as an objective assessment of thoracic limb asymmetry.

Joint angle, moment and power compensations in dogs with fragmented medial coronoid process.

Fragmented medial coronoid process (FMCP) is the most common cause of forelimb lameness in juvenile medium and large breed dogs; however methods of assessing the disruption to their gait remain subjective. The purpose of this study was to objectively quantify the mechanical disruptions to gait in dogs with arthroscopically confirmed unilateral FMCP. Seven dogs underwent full inverse dynamic analysis at the time of diagnosis.

Are sound dogs mechanically symmetric at trot? No, actually.

A two-year-old, sound Labrador Retriever was determined to be 'right hind limb dominant' by comparison of total hind limb moments of support using inverse dynamics. Net joint moments at the hip, tarsal and meta-tarsophalangeal joints were larger on the right side. Vertical joint reaction forces at the stifle were larger on the right, and horizontal stifle joint reaction forces were smaller on the right.

Transverse and dorso-ventral changes in thoracic dimension during equine locomotion.

Changes in shape of the equine thorax during locomotion are not well defined, although it has been shown recently that the transverse hemi-diameter changes its dimension by up to 80mm on the side of the trailing forelimb during gallop, despite minimal change in thoracic circumference. The aim of this project was to analyse transverse and dorso-ventral changes in shape of the thorax simultaneously, and to determine if leading limb, treadmill slope and speed have an effect on these shape changes. Reflective markers were placed on the horse's hemi-thorax and movement of the markers was recorded using a motion capture system while the horse trotted and cantered on a treadmill.

Effect of trotting velocity on work patterns of the hind limbs of Greyhounds.

Objective: To quantify the effects of trotting velocity on joint angular excursions, net joint moments, and powers across the hind limb joints in Greyhounds.

Animals: 5 healthy Greyhounds with no history of lameness of the hind limbs.

Procedures: Small reflective markers were applied to the skin over the joints of the hind limbs, and a 4-camera kinematic system was used to record positional data at 200 Hz in tandem with force platform data while the dogs trotted on a runway at slow, medium, and fast velocities.