Walking balance control in different settings: Effects of walking speed and biological sex.

Background: Previous research has suggested that spatiotemporal step parameters differ between settings; however, it remains unclear how different settings influence walking balance control.

Research Question: How do settings and sex influence walking balance control during walking at different speeds for young adults?

Methods: Forty-two adults (21 male (23 ± 4 years), 21 female (24 ± 5 years)) completed overground walking trials in four settings: laboratory (10 m), hallway, indoor open, and outdoor pathway (all 20 m) at three self-selected speeds (slow, preferred, fast) following verbal instructions. Participants wore 17 inertial sensors (Xsens Awinda, Movella, Henderson, NV) to capture total body kinematics.

Spatiotemporal walking performance in different settings: effects of walking speed and sex.

Background: Understanding the factors that influence walking is important as quantitative walking assessments have potential to inform health risk assessments. Wearable technology innovation has enabled quantitative walking assessments to be conducted in different settings. Understanding how different settings influence quantitative walking performance is required to better utilize the health-related potential of quantitative walking assessments.

Precision Errors and Monitoring Time Interval in Pediatric Muscle Imaging and Neuromuscular Performance Assessment.

Objectives: To determine precision errors and monitoring time intervals in imaged muscle properties and neuromuscular performance, and to explore growth-related factors associated with precision errors in children.

Methods: We included 35 children (mean age 10.5yrs) in the precision study cohort and 40 children (10.

The effect of acute equine temporomandibular joint inflammation on response to rein-tension and kinematics.

Background: Although the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the major contact point between the reins in the riders' hand, the bit in the mouth, and the rest of the horse under saddle, the role of inflammation of this joint on equine locomotion and rein tension is unknown.

Objective: To determine the effect of acute TMJ inflammation on rein-tension and horse movement when horses were long-reined on a treadmill.

Study Design: A randomized, controlled, cross-over design.

Age differences in upper extremity joint moments and strength during a laboratory-based tether-release forward fall arrest in older women.

Age-related declines in upper extremity muscle strength may affect an older adult's ability to land and control a simulated forward fall impact. The role of individual upper extremity joints during a forward fall impact has not been examined. The purpose was to evaluate the age differences in upper extremity joint moment contributions during a simulated forward fall and upper extremity muscle strength in older women.

The Associations Among Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, Self-Criticism, and Concern Over Mistakes in Response to Biomechanical Feedback in Athletes.

Athletes regularly face the possibility of failing to meet expectations in training and competition, and it is essential that they are equipped with strategies to facilitate coping after receiving performance feedback. Self-compassion is a potential resource to help athletes manage the various setbacks that arise in sport over and above other psychological resources. The primary purpose of this research was to explore how athletes respond to objective biomechanical feedback given after a performance.

Don't get tripped up: Haptic modalities alter gait characteristics during obstacle crossing.

The attentional capacity required of haptic modalities while obstacle crossing may limit their effectiveness. Therefore, this study examined the attentional demands of haptic modalities during obstacle crossing. Nineteen healthy young adults walked across a 10 m laboratory floor within two modality blocks using either: 1) light touch on a railing, or 2) pulling haptic anchors.

Does functional performance and upper body strength predict upper extremity reaction and movement time in older women?

Background: Reaction time to initiate upper limb movement and movement time to place hands on the landing surface may be important factors in forward fall landing and impact, contributing to injury reduction. The aim was to investigate the relationship of physical function and upper body strength to upper limb reaction and movement time in older female participants.

Methods: 75 female participants (72 ± 8 yrs) performed 5 arm response trials.

Investigating proactive balance control in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury while walking on a known slippery surface.

Background: Up to 83 % of individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) experience ≥ 1 fall/year. Individuals with iSCI employ more cautious walking strategies than able-bodied (AB) individuals during normal walking. Whether individuals with iSCI can use proactive balance strategies to adapt to expected slip perturbations/reduce slip severity while walking has not been previously assessed.

Reactive balance responses to an unexpected slip perturbation in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury.

Background: Frequent falls while walking among individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury may suggest impairments in reactive balance control; however, reactive balance control during walking has not been studied in this population. The objective was to compare reactive balance control with respect to changes in margin of stability, onset of arm and heel responses, and onset and magnitude of muscle activity following an unexpected slip perturbation in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury and able-bodied individuals.

Methods: Kinematic and electromyography data were obtained during normal walking and one unexpected slip.

The effects of light touch on gait and dynamic balance during normal and tandem walking in individuals with an incomplete spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Prospective cross-sectional study OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of adding haptic input during walking in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI).

Setting: Research laboratory.

Methods: Participants with iSCI and age- and sex-matched able-bodied (AB) individuals walked normally (SCI n = 18, AB n = 17) and in tandem (SCI n = 12, AB n = 17).

Adding Light Touch While Walking in Older Adults: Biomechanical and Neuromotor Effects.

Adding haptic input may improve balance control and help prevent falls in older adults. This study examined the effects of added haptic input via light touch on a railing while walking. Participants (N = 53, 75.

Haptic input and balance control: An exploratory study examining normative messaging.

This study examined the effect of descriptive norm messaging information on the relationship between haptic input and balance control. Participants were randomly assigned to either a message group where they balanced with haptic input after receiving a descriptive norm message about the positive effect of haptic input or a control group. Findings from an analysis of covariance revealed a significant difference between the two groups.

Comparing the effect of haptic modalities on walking balance control: Is using one or two arms better?

Background: Adding haptic input by lightly touching a railing or using haptic anchors may improve walking balance control. Typical use of the railing(s) and haptic anchors requires the use of one and two arms in an extended position, respectively. It is unclear whether it is arm configuration and/or the number of arms used or the addition of sensory input that affects walking balance control.

Are there attentional demands associated with haptic modalities while walking in young, healthy adults?

Study Design: A prospective, observational study.

Objectives: To assess the attentional demands of using haptic modalities during walking using a multi-task paradigm in young, healthy adults.

Setting: Biomechanics of Balance and Movement (BBAM) Lab, University of Saskatchewan.

A single-spring model predicts the majority of variance in impact force during a fall onto the outstretched hand.

The objective of this study was to validate a single-spring model in predicting measured impact forces during an outstretched arm falling scenario. Using an integrated force plate, impact forces were assessed from 10 young adults (5 males; 5 females), falling from planted knees onto outstretched arms, from a random order of drop heights: 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm. A single-spring model incorporating body mass, drop height plus the estimated linear stiffness of the upper extremity (hand, wrist and arm) was used to predict impact force on the hand.

Walking Stability During Normal Walking and Its Association with Slip Intensity Among Individuals with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury.

Background: Ambulatory individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) experience frequent falls suggesting impairments in their balance control. Individuals with iSCI are more stable during normal walking as compared to able-bodied (AB) individuals; however, it is not known whether this increased stability helps prevent hazardous slips.

Objective: To compare walking stability during normal walking between iSCI and AB individuals, and to study the association between stability during normal walking and the intensity of an unexpected slip perturbation.

Physical Therapists' Use of Evaluation Measures to Inform the Prescription of Ankle-Foot Orthoses for Children with Cerebral Palsy.

: To examine how physical therapists (PTs) use evaluation measures to guide prescription and re-assessment of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) for children with CP. : PTs in Canada who work with children with CP were invited to complete an online survey. Survey questions examined PT evaluation and interpretation of findings at initial AFO prescription and re-assessment.

Biomechanical and physiological age differences in a simulated forward fall on outstretched hands in women.

Background: Falling on the outstretched hands, a protective mechanism to arrest the body and avoid injury, requires upper limb and trunk motor control for effective body descent. Older women are particularly susceptible to injury from a forward fall, but the biomechanical and physiological (e.g.

Unilateral strength training leads to muscle-specific sparing effects during opposite homologous limb immobilization.

Cross education (CE) occurs after unilateral training whereby performance of the untrained contralateral limb is enhanced. A few studies have shown that CE can preserve or "spare" strength and size of an opposite immobilized limb, but the specificity (i.e.

Measuring balance confidence after spinal cord injury: the reliability and validity of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale.

Context/objective: The study objectives were to evaluate the test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminative validity of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI).

Design: Prospective, cross-sectional study.

Setting: Laboratory.

Flexibility training and the repeated-bout effect: priming interventions prior to eccentric training of the knee flexors.

Both the repeated-bout effect and increased flexibility have been linked to reduced muscle damage, fatigue, and strength loss after intense eccentric exercise. Our purpose was to compare the eccentric-training (ECC) response after first priming the muscles with either static flexibility training or a single intense bout of eccentric exercise. Twenty-five participants were randomly assigned to flexibility training (n = 8; 3×/week; 30 min/day), a single bout of intense eccentric exercise (n = 9), or no intervention (control; n = 8) during a 4-week priming phase, prior to completing a subsequent 4-week period of eccentric training of the knee flexors.

Different haptic tools reduce trunk velocity in the frontal plane during walking, but haptic anchors have advantages over lightly touching a railing.

There are different ways to add haptic input during walking which may affect walking balance. This study compared the use of two different haptic tools (rigid railing and haptic anchors) and investigated whether any effects on walking were the result of the added sensory input and/or the posture generated when using those tools. Data from 28 young healthy adults were collected using the Mobility Lab inertial sensor system (APDM, Oregon, USA).

Cross-education after high-frequency versus low-frequency volume-matched handgrip training.

Introduction: Cross-education training programs cause interlimb asymmetry of strength and hypertrophy. We examined the cross-education effects from a high-frequency (HF) versus a low-frequency (LF) volume-matched handgrip training program on interlimb asymmetry.

Methods: Right-handed participants completed either HF (n = 10; 2 × 6 repetitions 10 times per week) or LF (n = 9; 5 × 8 repetitions 3 times per week) training.

Female Age-Related Differences in Biomechanics and Muscle Activity During Descents on the Outstretched Arms.

The purposes of this study were to examine female age differences in: (1) upper extremity (UE) and trunk muscle activity, elbow joint moment, loading force, and UE energy absorption during a controlled forward body descent; and (2) UE muscle strength. Twenty young (mean 24.8 ± 3.