Effects of increasing walking cadence on gait biomechanics in adults with knee osteoarthritis.

Gait retraining is a strategy to manage altered loading patterns and pain characteristic of knee osteoarthritis. Lower walking cadence is associated with higher knee joint loading, vertical ground reaction forces, and risk for cartilage worsening. Therefore, we determined the acute effects of increasing walking cadence on measures of lower extremity loading and knee pain in knee osteoarthritis.

Intra- and interlimb effects of gait retraining in individuals with knee hyperextension.

Background: Gait retraining, which typically focuses on the most severely affected limb or joint, has shown promising results in treating faulty running and walking patterns. The closed-chain nature of gait during the stance phase may influence kinematic changes in the adjacent joints of the trained leg. In addition, the coupled nature of the lower extremity motion of gait suggests that changes in one leg may transfer to the other.

Effects of gait retraining in knee joint position sense.

Background: Joint position sense (JPS) is crucial for maintaining posture, protecting joints, and carrying out daily activities such as walking. Studies show that exercises to strengthen muscles and improve proprioception can positively impact JPS during passive and less complex activities. Evidence suggests that motor training can effectively enhance sensory function, including JPS, due to the extensive connections between the motor cortex and somatosensory areas.

Identification of footstrike pattern using accelerometry and machine learning.

Recent reports have suggested that there may be a relationship between footstrike pattern and overuse injury incidence and type. With the recent increase in wearable sensors, it is important to identify paradigms where the footstrike pattern can be detected in real-time from minimal data. Machine learning was used to classify tibial acceleration data into three distinct footstrike patterns: rearfoot, midfoot, or forefoot.

Understanding the design differences between multisegmented foot models and their impact on joint kinetic outcomes.

Multisegmented foot models (MSFMs) are used to capture data of specific regions of the foot instead of representing the foot as a single, rigid segment. It has been documented that different MSFMs do not yield the same joint kinematic data, but there is little information available regarding their use for kinetic analysis. We compared the moment and power at the tibiotalar, midtarsal, and metatarsophalangeal joints of four MSFMs using motion capture data of young adult runners during stance phase of barefoot walking and jogging.

Sex- and age-related differences in kinetics and tibial accelerations during military-relevant movement tasks in U.S. Army trainees.

Lower extremity injuries are prevalent in military trainees, especially in female and older trainees. Modifiable factors that lead to higher injury risk in these subgroups are not clear. The purpose of this study was to identify whether external loading variables during military-relevant tasks differ by age and sex in U.

How many segments are enough to biomechanically model the feet? A comparison of inverse kinematics and dynamics in multisegmented foot models.

Multisegmented foot models (MSFMs) capture kinematic and kinetic data of specific regions of the foot instead of representing the foot as a single, rigid segment. Models differ by the number of segments and segment definitions, so there is no consensus for best practice. It is unknown whether MSFMs yield the same joint kinematic and kinetic data and what level of detail is necessary to accurately measure such values.

Association of tibial acceleration during walking to pain and impact loading in adults with knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Higher impact loading during walking is implicated in the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis. Accelerometry enables the measurement of peak tibial acceleration outside the laboratory. We characterized the relations of peak tibial acceleration to knee pain and impact loading during walking in adults with knee osteoarthritis.

Predicting ankle and knee sagittal kinematics and kinetics using an ankle-mounted inertial sensor.

The purpose of this study was to develop a machine learning model to reconstruct time series kinematic and kinetic profiles of the ankle and knee joint across six different tasks using an ankle-mounted IMU. Four male collegiate basketball players performed repeated tasks, including walking, jogging, running, sidestep cutting, max-height jumping, and stop-jumping, resulting in a total of 102 movements. Ankle and knee flexion-extension angles and moments were estimated using motion capture and inverse dynamics and considered 'actual data' for the purpose of model fitting.

Relationships between tibial accelerations and ground reaction forces during walking with load carriage.

Peak tibial accelerations (TAs) during running are strongly related to early stance vertical ground reaction forces (GRFs), which are associated with musculoskeletal injury. However, few studies have examined these correlations during walking, and none have evaluated them during walking with loads, a relevant activity for military personnel. Our purpose was to determine the relationships between GRFs and TAs in US Army trainees (n = 649) walking with loads.

Reversing the Mismatch With Forefoot Striking to Reduce Running Injuries.

Recent studies have suggested that 95% of modern runners land with a rearfoot strike (RFS) pattern. However, we hypothesize that running with an RFS pattern is indicative of an evolutionary mismatch that can lead to musculoskeletal injury. This perspective is predicated on the notion that our ancestors evolved to run barefoot and primarily with a forefoot strike (FFS) pattern.

What differentiates rearfoot strike runners with low and high vertical load rates?

Background: Runners with a rearfoot strike pattern typically show high vertical ground reaction force loading rates (LRs), that are associated with injuries, compared with forefoot strikers. However, some runners with a rearfoot strike pattern run in a way that reduces LRs. Our purpose was to identify differences in running mechanics between rearfoot strike runners with high and low vertical LRs.

Agreement Between Sagittal Foot and Tibia Angles During Running Derived From an Open-Source Markerless Motion Capture Platform and Manual Digitization.

Several open-source platforms for markerless motion capture offer the ability to track 2-dimensional (2D) kinematics using simple digital video cameras. We sought to establish the performance of one of these platforms, DeepLabCut. Eighty-four runners who had sagittal plane videos recorded of their left lower leg were included in the study.

Impact loading in female runners with single and multiple bone stress injuries during fresh and exerted conditions.

Background: Bone stress injuries (BSIs) are common in female runners, and recurrent BSI rates are high. Previous work suggests an association between higher impact loading during running and tibial BSI. However, it is unknown whether impact loading and fatigue-related loading changes discriminate women with a history of multiple BSIs.

Metatarsal Bone Marrow Edema on Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Its Correlation to Bone Stress Injuries in Male Collegiate Basketball Players.

Background: The presence of bone marrow edema (BME) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to evaluate for bone stress injuries in athletes.

Purpose: To examine the prevalence of MRI findings, including BME, in a single male collegiate basketball team before and after a single season and to assess its association with clinically symptomatic metatarsal bone stress injuries.

Study Design: Cohort Study; Level of evidence, 3.

REPORT-PFP: a consensus from the International Patellofemoral Research Network to improve REPORTing of quantitative PatelloFemoral Pain studies.

Patellofemoral pain is a common and often debilitating musculoskeletal condition. Clinical translation and evidence synthesis of patellofemoral pain research are compromised by heterogenous and often inadequately reported study details. This consensus statement and associated checklist provides standards for REPORTing of quantitative PatelloFemoral Pain (REPORT-PFP) research to enhance clinical translation and evidence synthesis, and support clinician engagement with research and data collection.

Stepping Back to Minimal Footwear: Applications Across the Lifespan.

Minimal footwear has existed for tens of thousands of years and was originally designed to protect the sole of the foot. Over the past 50 yr, most footwear has become increasingly more cushioned and supportive. Here, we review evidence that minimal shoes are a better match to our feet, which may result in a lower risk of musculoskeletal injury.

A comparison of ground reaction force waveforms and step length between recreational endurance runners with hamstring injuries and healthy controls.

Background: Acute hamstring injuries during sprinting have been attributed, in part, to the ground reaction forces experienced during early stance. However, no studies have investigated the factors associated with overuse hamstring injuries in endurance runners. Our purpose was to compare early stance ground reaction forces and step length between runners with overuse hamstring injuries and healthy controls.

Exerted running results in altered impact mechanics and footstrike patterns following gait retraining.

Unlabelled: Exertion may alter running mechanics and increase injury risk. Effects of exertion following gait-retraining are unknown.

Objectives: To determine how exertion effects load rates, footstrike, and cadence in runners following a transition to forefoot strike (FFS) or increased cadence (CAD) gait-retraining.

Relationships between tibial acceleration and ground reaction force measures in the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior planes.

Peak vertical tibial accelerations during running have shown strong correlations with vertical ground reaction force loading rates and some associations with injury. However, little attention has been given to tibial accelerations along the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior axes. Therefore, our purpose was to examine the correlation between peak tibial accelerations and ground reaction force loading rates in the medial-lateral and posterior directions.

Relationships Between Arch Height Flexibility and Medial-Lateral Ground Reaction Forces in Rearfoot and Forefoot Strike Runners.

Higher medial-lateral forces have been reported in individuals with stiffer foot arches. However, this was in a small sample of military personnel who ran with a rearfoot strike pattern. Therefore, our purpose was to investigate whether runners, both rearfoot and forefoot strikers, show different associations between medial-lateral forces and arch stiffness.

A comparison of attachment methods of skin mounted inertial measurement units on tibial accelerations.

Peak tibial accelerations during running are of interest because of their correlation with vertical ground reaction force load rates and association with running injury. Previous work has demonstrated systematically lower accelerations measured with a bone- compared to skin-mounted accelerometer. However, no studies have assessed the effects of more or less secure attachment methods for skin mounted sensors.

A Narrative Review of Metatarsal Bone Stress Injury in Athletic Populations: Etiology, Biomechanics, and Management.

Metatarsal bone stress injuries (BSIs) are common in athletic populations. BSIs are overuse injuries that result from an accumulation of microdamage that exceeds bone remodeling. Risk for metatarsal BSI is multifactorial and includes factors related to anatomy, biology, and biomechanics.