Development of an Objective Portable Measurement Device for Spinal Joint Accessory Motion Testing.

Joint accessory motion testing (JAMT) is a standard procedure used by manual therapists to assess and treat musculoskeletal disorders. Joint accessory motion (JAM) is movement that occurs between joint surfaces, and can be induced by applying force. The motion amount, end feel, symptoms, and resistance perceived by therapists during test procedures are recorded as evidence for the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment decision making, and intervention outcome.

Vitamin D status in non-supplemented postmenopausal Taiwanese women with osteoporosis and fragility fracture.

Background: Vitamin D is essential for calcium metabolism, Vitamin D deficiency can precipitate osteoporosis, cause muscle weakness and increase the risk of fracture. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among non-supplemented postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and fragility fractures of the hip or vertebrae in Taiwan.

Methods: This multi-center, cross-sectional, observational study analyzed the vitamin D inadequacy [defined as 25(OH) D level less than 30 ng/mL] in Taiwanese postmenopausal osteoporotic patients who suffered from a low trauma, non-pathological fragility hip or vertebral fracture that received post-fracture medical care when admitted to hospital or at an outpatient clinic.

Efficacy, safety and tolerability of ongoing statin plus ezetimibe versus doubling the ongoing statin dose in hypercholesterolemic Taiwanese patients: an open-label, randomized clinical trial.

Background: Reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is associated with reduced risk for major coronary events. Despite statin efficacy, a considerable proportion of statin-treated hypercholesterolemic patients fail to reach therapeutic LDL-C targets as defined by guidelines. This study compared the efficacy of ezetimibe added to ongoing statins with doubling the dose of ongoing statin in a population of Taiwanese patients with hypercholesterolemia.

Concave polyethylene component improves biomechanical performance in lumbar total disc replacement--modified compressive-shearing test by finite element analysis.

Failure of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene components after total disc replacements in the lumbar spine has been reported in several retrieval studies, but immediate biomechanical evidence for those mechanical failures remained unclear. Current study aimed to investigate the failure mechanisms of commercial lumbar disc prostheses and to enhance the biomechanical performances of polyethylene components by modifying the articulating surface into a convex geometry. Modified compressive-shearing tests were utilized in finite element analyses for comparing the contact, tensile, and shearing stresses on two commercial disc prostheses and on a concave polyethylene design.

Ankle-foot simulator development for testing ankle-foot orthoses.

The fatigue failure of thermoplastic ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) was observed in clinics. However, there was no standard evaluation for the AFOs to enhance the understanding of how AFOs become more readily acceptable to patients. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an ankle-foot simulator (AFS) as a testing apparatus for AFOs, and performed a pilot test to investigate the failure mechanism of anterior ankle-foot orthosis (AAFO).

A novel method for measuring electromechanical delay of the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus lateralis.

Electromechanical delay (EMD) of the vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) and vastus lateralis (VL) is determined by measuring the interval between the time of onset of muscle activities and the time of onset of mechanical output. However, individual mechanical output of the VMO or the VL cannot be obtained with the conventional method because of the knee extension force as the mechanical output. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to develop a new method for measuring EMD of the VMO and VL individually.