Asymmetric changes in foot anthropometry with pregnancy may be related to onset of lower limb and low back pain.

Introduction: Fifty percent of pregnant females experience pain with 20% reporting long-term pain post-partum. Pregnant females undergo changes in foot anthropometry, lower extremity alignment, and joint laxity. It is unknown if asymmetric alterations may be related to development of pain.

Arch Stiffness Does Not Determine Running Economy in Recreational Runners.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between foot length, arch stiffness, and running economy in recreational runner at low running velocities. Sixteen trained endurance (age 20.5 ± 0.

Torso kinematics during gait and trunk anthropometry in pregnant fallers and non-fallers.

Background: Pregnant women experience numerous physiological and biomechanical alterations which may be associated with their increased risk of experiencing a fall. Gait alterations in other populations who fall include increased step width and mediolateral trunk motion. It is not known if pregnant women who have fallen exhibit these alterations.

The Effect of Fatigue on Leg Muscle Activation and Tibial Acceleration During a Jumping Task.

Context: Lower-extremity stress fractures (SFx) are a common occurrence during load-bearing activities of jumping and landing. To detect biomechanical changes during jumping postinjury, a fatigue model could be used.

Objective: To evaluate muscle activation in the lower leg and tibial accelerations (TAs) prefatigue to postfatigue following a jumping task in those with and without a history of SFx.

Resveratrol Enhances Exercise-Induced Cellular and Functional Adaptations of Skeletal Muscle in Older Men and Women.

Older men (n = 12) and women (n = 18) 65-80 years of age completed 12 weeks of exercise and took either a placebo or resveratrol (RSV) (500 mg/d) to test the hypothesis that RSV treatment combined with exercise would increase mitochondrial density, muscle fatigue resistance, and cardiovascular function more than exercise alone. Contrary to our hypothesis, aerobic and resistance exercise coupled with RSV treatment did not reduce cardiovascular risk further than exercise alone. However, exercise added to RSV treatment improved the indices of mitochondrial density, and muscle fatigue resistance more than placebo and exercise treatments.

Caliper Method Versus Digital Photogrammetry for Assessing Arch Height Index in Pregnant Women.

Background: Foot anthropometry may be altered during pregnancy. Pregnant women often report lower-extremity pain that may be related to these alterations. The Arch Height Index Measurement System is a common method of foot arch assessment; however, the required calipers are costly and are not widely available.

Validation of Maximal Heart Rate Prediction Equations Based on Sex and Physical Activity Status.

The purpose of the study was to determine if measured maximal heart rate (HR) was affected by sex or aerobic training status, and to determine the accuracy of three common clinical age-prediction maximal heart rate regression equations used to predict HR: · . Fifty-two participants in total, 30 of which were in the active group (15 M, 15 F) and 22 subjects in the sedentary group (9 M, 13 F), within the age range of 18-25 years and with a normal BMI (18.5-24.

The pregnant "waddle": an evaluation of torso kinematics in pregnancy.

Unlabelled: Although pregnant women are anecdotally said to "waddle" during gait, researchers have not quantified the kinematics of these gait alterations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pregnancy on thoracic and pelvic kinematics during gait.

Methods: Data were collected on 29 pregnant subjects in the mid-second and third trimesters and on 40 control women.

Ground reaction forces during stair locomotion in pregnant fallers and non-fallers.

Background: More than 27% of pregnant women fall. Approximately 40% of falls occur during staircase locomotion. The purpose of this study was to examine ground reaction forces in pregnant fallers, pregnant non-fallers, and non-pregnant controls to determine if pregnant fallers display alterations to ground reaction forces that increase their risk of falling on stairs.

Theoretical and experimental indicators of falls during pregnancy as assessed by postural perturbations.

Throughout pregnancy, women experience physical, physiological, and hormonal alterations that are often accompanied by decreased postural control. According to one study, nearly 27% of pregnant women fell while pregnant. This study had two objectives: (1) to characterize the postural responses of pregnant fallers, nonfallers, and controls to surface perturbations, and (2) to develop a mathematical model to gain insights into the postural control strategies of each group.

Ground reaction forces during stair locomotion in pregnancy.

Unlabelled: Pregnant women experience numerous physical alterations during pregnancy which may place them at an increased risk of falls. The purpose of this study was to examine ground reaction forces (GRFs) during staircase locomotion in pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Methods: Data were collected on 29 pregnant women in their second and third trimesters, and on 40 control women.

Competitive athletic participation, thigh muscle strength, and bone density in elite senior athletes and controls.

The relationship between participation in highly competitive exercise, thigh muscle strength, and regional and total body bone mineral density (BMD) in elite senior athletes and healthy elderly controls was investigated. One hundred and four elite senior athletes (age: 72.6 ± 6.

Decreased neuromuscular function in Crohn's disease patients is not associated with low serum vitamin D levels.

Background: Neuromuscular fatigue is a common complaint in Crohn's disease (CD) patients. A correlation between serum vitamin D concentrations and neuromuscular function has been found in the elderly or non-ambulant populations.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine whether CD patients exhibit impaired neuromuscular function and if so, is there a link between vitamin D and neuromuscular function.

Resistance exercise reduces skeletal muscle cachexia and improves muscle function in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, autoimmune, inflammatory disease associated with cachexia (reduced muscle and increased fat). Although strength-training exercise has been used in persons with RA, it is not clear if it is effective for reducing cachexia. A 46-year-old woman was studied to determine: (i) if resistance exercise could reverse cachexia by improving muscle mass, fiber cross-sectional area, and muscle function; and (2) if elevated apoptotic signaling was involved in cachexia with RA and could be reduced by resistance training.

Differences in geriatric anthropometric data between DXA-based subject-specific estimates and non-age-specific traditional regression models.

Age, obesity, and gender can have a significant impact on the anthropometrics of adults aged 65 and older. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in body segment parameters derived using two methods: (1) a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) subject-specific method (Chambers et al., 2010) and (2) traditional regression models (de Leva, 1996).

Ground reaction forces during gait in pregnant fallers and non-fallers.

Unlabelled: Pregnant women are at a high risk of experiencing a fall. To our knowledge, ground reaction forces (GRFs) in pregnant fallers and non-fallers have not been reported.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pregnancy and fall history on GRFs during walking.

The effect of obesity and gender on body segment parameters in older adults.

Background: Anthropometry is a necessary aspect of aging-related research, especially in biomechanics and injury prevention. Little information is available on inertial parameters in the geriatric population that account for gender and obesity effects. The goal of this study was to report body segment parameters in adults aged 65 years and older, and to investigate the impact of aging, gender and obesity.

Thigh muscle strength in senior athletes and healthy controls.

Exercise is commonly recommended to counteract aging-related muscle weakness. While numerous exercise intervention studies on the elderly have been performed, few have included elite senior athletes, such as those who participate in the National Senior Games. The extent to which participation in highly competitive exercise affects muscle strength is unknown, as well as the extent to which such participation mitigates any aging-related strength losses.

A comparison of muscle activations during traditional and abbreviated tennis serves.

The abbreviated tennis serve is a relatively novel modification of the traditional serve that has been reported to provide performance advantages over the traditional technique. However, there are limited objective data regarding the benefits and biomechanics of the abbreviated serve; no data exist that describe shoulder muscle activations during the abbreviated serve. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activations between the traditional and abbreviated serves.

Comparison of split double and triple twists in pair figure skating.

In this study, we compared the kinematic variables of the split triple twist with those of the split double twist to help coaches and scientists understand these landmark pair skating skills. High-speed video was taken during the pair short and free programmes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and the 2003 International Skating Union Grand Prix Finals. Three-dimensional analyses of 14 split double twists and 15 split triple twists from eleven pairs were completed.

Effect of orthoses on postural stability in asymptomatic subjects with rearfoot malalignment during a 6-week acclimation period.

Objective: To determine the effect of custom-fitted orthoses on postural sway over a 6-week acclimation period.

Design: Repeated-measures analysis of variance on postural sway measures with factors being group (control, malaligned), time (initial, 2 wk, 4 wk, 6 wk postintervention), and condition (with orthoses, without orthoses). For single-limb stance, side (right, left) was analyzed to determine bilateral differences.

Neuromuscular and biomechanical characteristics do not vary across the menstrual cycle.

Research examining the menstrual cycle and its relationship to ACL injury has focused on determining the incidence of ACL injury during the different phases of the menstrual cycle and assessing the changes in neuromuscular and biomechanical characteristics between these phases. Conflicting results warrant further investigation to determine if neuromuscular and biomechanical characteristics respond in a similar pattern to the fluctuating estradiol and progesterone. The purpose of this study was to determine if changes in the levels of estradiol and progesterone significantly altered fine motor coordination, postural stability, knee strength, and knee joint kinematics and kinetics between the menses, post-ovulatory, and mid-luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.

The effect of a single treatment of the Protonics system on lower extremity kinematics during gait and the lateral step up exercise.

Introduction: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is often attributed to abnormal patellar tracking. The Protonics knee orthosis was developed to reduce femoral internal rotation by altering pelvic alignment via hamstring activation. The purpose of this research was to determine if a single treatment with the orthosis improved lower extremity alignment during gait and the lateral step up exercise.

Effects of 2 ankle fatigue models on the duration of postural stability dysfunction.

Context: Muscle fatigue is generally categorized in 2 ways: that caused by peripheral weakness (peripheral fatigue) and that caused by a progressive failure of voluntary neural drive (central fatigue). Numerous variables have been studied in conjunction with fatigue protocols, including postural stability, maximum voluntary contraction force, and reaction time. When torque recordings fall below 50% of a maximum voluntary contraction, the muscle is described as fatigued, but whether this value is a good indicator of fatigue has not been studied.

The effect of cryotherapy on three dimensional ankle kinematics during a sidestep cutting maneuver.

Although cryotherapy is commonly used in the treatment of acute and chronic athletic injuries, the deleterious effects of limb cooling, such as decreased nerve and muscle function, slowed sensation and inhibition of normal relaxes, may put an athlete at increased risk of additional injury. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cryotherapy on subtalar and ankle joint kinematics of healthy athletes performing a sidestep 45° cut. We hypothesized that greater joint displacements and velocities would be seen after icing.