Development of Surface EMG for Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation of Hemiparetic Patients.

Background: The quantification of electromyographic activity using surface electrodes is invaluable for understanding gait disorders in patients with central nervous system lesions. We propose to evaluate a commercially available low-cost system compared to a reference system in participants with stroke-related movement disorders in functional situations.

Methods: Three hemiparetic participants performed three functional tasks: two treadmill walks at different speeds and a sit-to-stand test.

Effect of Advanced Footwear Technology Spikes on Sprint Acceleration: A Multiple N-of-1 Trial.

Background: In contrast with Advanced Footwear Technology-AFT running shoes for long-distance, little is known about AFT sprint spikes on performance and acceleration parameters. However, their use has become widespread since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and knowledge of their effects would seem to be an essential starting point before any clinical or socio-economic considerations.

Objectives: Our objectives were to determine intra- and inter-subject sprinting performance modifications with Nike AFT spikes (NAS) compared to standard spiked-shoes (SS).

Are the ground reaction forces altered by the curve and with the increasing sprinting velocity?

In 200- and 400-m races, 58% of the total distance to cover is in the curve. In the curve, the sprinting performance is decreased in comparison to the straight. However, the reasons for this decreased performance is not well understood.

Quantification of the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Limb Using Fuzzy Logic: A Study of Manual Wheelchair Propulsion.

Background: For manual wheelchair users, overuse of the upper limbs can cause upper limb musculoskeletal disorders, which can lead to a loss of autonomy. The main objective of this study was to quantify the risk level of musculoskeletal disorders of different slope propulsions in manual wheelchair users using fuzzy logic.

Methods: In total, 17 spinal cord injury participants were recruited.

Effect of Repeated, On-Field Sprints on Kinematic Variables in Wheelchair Rugby Players.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of repeated sprints on kinematic performance and propulsion variables during the acceleration and constant peak velocity phases in wheelchair rugby players classified as defensive (low point in defensive [LP-D]) or offensive players (high point in offensive [HP-O]).

Design: Twenty-two players (13 LP-D and 9 HP-O) performed 6 × 20-m repeated sprint field tests. We calculated peak wheelchair velocities, propulsion phase times, deceleration phase times, cycle times, and left-right velocity asymmetry of the best and last sprints during the acceleration and constant peak velocity phases, the rate of decline in performance variables between the best and the last sprint and a fatigue index.

Does Accelerometry at the Centre of Mass Accurately Predict the Gait Energy Expenditure in Patients with Hemiparesis?

Background: The aim of this study was to compare energy expenditure (EE) predicted by accelerometery (EEcc) with indirect calorimetry (EE) in individuals with hemiparesis.

Methods: Twenty-four participants (12 with stroke and 12 healthy controls) performed a six-minute walk test (6MWT) during which EE was measured using a portable indirect calorimetry system and EE was calculated using Bouten's equation (1993) with data from a three-axis accelerometer positioned between L3 and L4.

Results: The median EE was 9.

Impact of Holding a Badminton Racket on Spatio-Temporal and Kinetic Parameters During Manual Wheelchair Propulsion.

Introduction: Para badminton entered the Paralympic world for the first time with the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The particularity of this sport lies in the handling of the wheelchair and the racket simultaneously. To the best of our knowledge, and considering the youthfulness of this sport, it appears that no study has looked at the impact of the badminton racket on the kinetic and spatiotemporal parameters.

Influence of Wheelchair Type on Kinematic Parameters in Wheelchair Rugby.

Introduction: In wheelchair rugby, players use either an offensive or defensive wheelchair depending on their field position and level of impairment. Performance of wheelchair rugby players is related to several parameters, however it is currently unclear if differences in performance are related to wheelchair type or no: the effect of wheelchair type on performance variables has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to compare offensive and defensive wheelchairs on performance variables during a straight-line sprint.

Sprint performance and force application of tennis players during manual wheelchair propulsion with and without holding a tennis racket.

The objective of this exploratory research is to study the impact of holding a tennis racket while propelling a wheelchair on kinetic and temporal parameters in a field-based environment. 13 experienced wheelchair tennis players with disabilities (36.1 ± 8.

Effect of power-assistance on upper limb biomechanical and physiological variables during a 6-minute, manual wheelchair propulsion test: a randomised, cross-over study.

Purpose: Use of a power-assistance wheelchair could reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), however, a comprehensive biomechanical evaluation of these systems has not been carried out. This study aimed to evaluate and compare biomechanical UL propulsion variables, and physiological exercise-related variables during the use of a wheelchair with rear drive power assist device (RD-PAD) and a standard manual wheelchair (MW).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two adults with spinal cord injury were recruited.

Single-session training on an ascending treadmill slope: effects on gait parameters in persons with stroke. A pilot study.

Objective: Treadmill training with an upward incline could improve gait parameters altered in persons with stroke, especially lower limb flexion. This study aimed to determine the effects of a treadmill single-session training with a 10% upward incline on biomechanical gait parameters in persons with stroke.

Methods: Fifteen persons with stroke-related hemiparesis performed a 20-min treadmill training session with a 10% ascending incline in this interventional pilot study.

Performance, asymmetry and biomechanical parameters in wheelchair rugby players.

The practice of the wheelchair rugby is becoming more and more worldwide. However, few biomechanical studies have focused on this sport. The aim of this study was to compare kinematic parameters of wheelchair rugby players, classified as defensive players (LP-D) versus offensive players (HP-O).

Handrim forces during wheelies performance in able-bodied and SCI subjects.

Manual wheelchair users must be able to carry out wheelies in order to tackle obstacles in the outdoor environment. To date, no studies have compared balance variables and forces exerted on the handrim during a stationary wheelie between able bodied and spinal cord injury subjects. To compare the distribution of forces applied to the handrim and the center of pressure displacement during a stationary wheelie between able-bodied (AB) subjects and manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI).

A single session of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation applied over the affected primary motor cortex does not alter gait parameters in chronic stroke survivors.

Objectives: The excitability of some neural circuits involved in walking and affected in individuals with chronic stroke can be modulated during and/or immediately after anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS). This study was designed to investigate the effects of a-tDCS during and immediately after application on leg muscle activity during gait, and on spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters in patients with chronic stroke.

Methods: This study was randomized, sham-controlled and double-blinded with a cross-over design and included 24 individuals with chronic stroke.

Muscle force strategies for poststroke hemiparetic patients during gait.

Background And Objective: Individuals who survive a stroke often display considerable gait impairments that occur in part due to inadequate muscle force production. This study aimed to investigate lower limb muscle forces in poststroke patients during walking.

Methods: Kinematics, kinetics, and electromyographic (EMG) measurements were performed on nine poststroke and healthy individuals walking at natural speed in a cross-sectional study.

Clinical experience changes the combination and the weighting of audio-visual sources of information.

Objective: Although audio and visual information constitute relevant channels to communicate pain, it remains unclear to what extent observers combine and weight these sources of information when estimating others' pain. The present study aimed to examine this issue through the theoretical framework of the Information Integration Theory. The combination and weighting processes were addressed in view of familiarity with others' pain.

Effect of botulinum toxin injection on length and force of the rectus femoris and triceps surae muscles during locomotion in patients with chronic hemiparesis (FOLOTOX).

Background: After stroke, spasticity of the rectus femoris (RF) and triceps surae (TS) muscles frequently alters the gait pattern. Knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion in swing are often reduced, respectively called Stiff Knee Gait (SKG) and equinus. A preliminary uncontrolled study suggested that botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injections could improve muscle length and force generated during gait, improving inter-segmental coordination.

Chest Wall Kinematics Using Triangular Cosserat Point Elements in Healthy and Neuromuscular Subjects.

Optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) is a noninvasive method for assessing lung volume variations and the contributions of different anatomical compartments of the chest wall (CW) through measurements of the motion of markers attached to the CW surface. The present study proposes a new method for analyzing the local CW kinematics from OEP measurements based on the kinematics of triangular Cosserat point elements (TCPEs). 52 reflective markers were placed on the anterior CW to create a mesh of 78 triangles according to an anatomical model.

Short-term effect of volume recruitment-derecruitment manoeuvre on chest-wall motion in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Because progressive respiratory muscle weakness leads to decreased chest-wall motion with eventual ribcage stiffening, the purpose was to compare vital capacity (VC) and contributions of chest-wall compartments before and after volume recruitment-derecruitment manoeuvres (VRDM) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). We studied nine patients with DMD and VC lower than 30% of predicted. VRDM was performed using 15 insufflations-exsufflations of +30 to -30 cmHO.

Timed Up and Go test: Comparison of kinematics between patients with chronic stroke and healthy subjects.

Understanding locomotor behavior is important to guide rehabilitation after stroke. This study compared lower-limb kinematics during the walking and turning sub-tasks of the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test in stroke patients and healthy subjects. We also determined the parameters which explain TUG sub-task performance time in healthy subjects.

Locomotor Trajectories of Stroke Patients during Oriented Gait and Turning.

Background: The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is widely used to assess locomotion in patients with stroke and is considered to predict the risk of falls. The analysis of locomotor trajectories during the TUG appears pertinent in stroke patients. The aims of this study were i) to analyze locomotor trajectories in patients with stroke during the walking and turning sub-tasks of the TUG, and to compare them with healthy subjects, ii) to determine whether trajectory parameters provide additional information to that provided by the conventional measure (performance time), iii) to compare the trajectory parameters of fallers and non-fallers with stroke and of patients with right and left hemisphere stroke, and iv) to evaluate correlations between trajectory parameters and Berg Balance Scale scores.

3D analysis of the chest wall motion for monitoring late-onset Pompe disease patients.

Late-onset Pompe disease, for which enzyme replacement therapy is available, induces progressive diaphragmatic weakness. Monitoring diaphragmatic function is therefore crucial but is hindered by the need to insert esophageal and gastric probes. Vital capacity (VC), inspiratory capacity, maximal inspiratory pressure, and sniff nasal pressure are noninvasive measurements but reflect only global inspiratory-muscle function.

Comparison of Two Methods to Compute Respiratory Volumes Using Optoelectronic Plethysmography.

Plethysmography is an indispensable component of clinical lung function testing. However, lung volume measurement in the supine position using an optoelectronic system requires the placement of reflective markers on the anterior and lateral torso surface. The conventional method computes breath-by-breath changes in the volume between the markers and the bed, which serves as the reference plane.