Evaluation of the lumbar and abdominal muscles behavior in different sagittal plane angles during maximum voluntary isometric extension.

Physical positions and lumbar movements are directly related to lumbar disorders. It is known that the sagittal plane angle affects the person's ability to apply extension torque. However, there is no consensus on whether or not muscle activity and co-contractions change at these angles.

Effect of equipping an unloader knee orthosis with vibrators on pain, function, stiffness, and knee adduction moment in people with knee osteoarthritis: A pilot randomized trial.

Background: Wearing unloader knee orthoses for the long term may have a side effect on knee adduction moment (KAM).

Research Question: This study sought to determine whether equipping an unloader knee orthosis with vibrators improves its effectiveness in pain, stiffness, function, and reducing the KAM.

Methods: The authors performed a clinical evaluation with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) questionnaire and instrumented gait analyses on 14 participants with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis in two testing sessions: before wearing the orthosis and after 6 weeks of use.

A Systematic Review of Fall Risk Factors in Stroke Survivors: Towards Improved Assessment Platforms and Protocols.

To prevent falling, a common incident with debilitating health consequences among stroke survivors, it is important to identify significant fall risk factors (FRFs) towards developing and implementing predictive and preventive strategies and guidelines. This review provides a systematic approach for identifying the relevant FRFs and shedding light on future directions of research. A systematic search was conducted in 5 popular research databases.

Improving Prehospital Stroke Diagnosis Using Natural Language Processing of Paramedic Reports.

Background And Purpose: Accurate prehospital diagnosis of stroke by emergency medical services (EMS) can increase treatments rates, mitigate disability, and reduce stroke deaths. We aimed to develop a model that utilizes natural language processing of EMS reports and machine learning to improve prehospital stroke identification.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients transported by the Chicago EMS to 17 regional primary and comprehensive stroke centers.

Effects of lumbosacral orthosis on dynamical structure of center of pressure fluctuations in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: A few clinical trials have examined the effect of treatment interventions on postural control in patients with chronic low back pain, all of which have exclusively evaluated postural stability using traditional linear measures of postural sway. However, postural control improvement cannot be determined by exclusively relying on linear measurements, because these parameters provide no information on underlying motor control mechanisms.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effect of using lumbosacral orthoses (LSO) together with routine physical therapy, compared to routine physical therapy alone on postural control, using nonlinear analysis techniques.

Can Postural Instability in Individuals with Distal Radius Fractures Be Alleviated by Concurrent Cognitive Tasks?

Background: Although impaired postural control may be a risk factor for distal radius fractures (wrist fractures), which often are caused by falls, little attention has been given thus far to the various performance and neurophysiologic aspects involved. Although studies suggest that external focus and cognitive tasks can improve postural control, it remains unclear whether these benefits are observed in individuals with a history of distal radius fracture and to what extent.

Questions/purposes: (1) To compare patients with a history of distal radius fracture to age- and sex-matched controls in terms of postural stability while standing on stable and unstable support surfaces, using both postural sway and neurophysiological measures as endpoints; and (2) to determine whether internal- and external-focus strategies and cognitive tasks can improve postural stability in these patients.

Sharif-Human movement instrumentation system (SHARIF-HMIS): Development and validation.

The interest in wearable systems among the biomedical engineering and clinical community continues to escalate as technical refinements enhance their potential use for both indoor and outdoor applications. For example, an important wearable technology known as a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) is demonstrating promising applications in the area of biomedical engineering. Accordingly, this study was designed to investigate the Sharif-Human Movement Instrumentation System (SHARIF-HMIS), consisting of inertial measurement units (IMUs), stretchable clothing, and a data logger-all of which can be used outside the controlled environment of a laboratory, thus enhancing its overall utility.

Modeling and validation of a detailed FE viscoelastic lumbar spine model for vehicle occupant dummies.

The dummies currently used for predicting vehicle occupant response during frontal crashes or whole-body vibration provide insufficient information about spinal loads. Although they aptly approximate upper-body rotations in different loading scenarios, they overlook spinal loads, which are crucial to injury assessment. This paper aims to develop a modified dummy finite element (FE) model with a detailed viscoelastic lumbar spine.

Goal equivalent manifold analysis of task performance in non-specific LBP and healthy subjects during repetitive trunk movement: Effect of load, velocity, symmetry.

Motor abundance allows reliability of motor performance despite its variability. The nature of this variability provides important information on the flexibility of control strategies. This feature of control may be affected by low back pain (LPB) and trunk flexion/extension conditions.

A model for flexi-bar to evaluate intervertebral disc and muscle forces in exercises.

This study developed and validated a lumped parameter model for the FLEXI-BAR, a popular training instrument that provides vibration stimulation. The model which can be used in conjunction with musculoskeletal-modeling software for quantitative biomechanical analyses, consists of 3 rigid segments, 2 torsional springs, and 2 torsional dashpots. Two different sets of experiments were conducted to determine the model's key parameters including the stiffness of the springs and the damping ratio of the dashpots.

Trunk coordination in healthy and chronic nonspecific low back pain subjects during repetitive flexion-extension tasks: Effects of movement asymmetry, velocity and load.

Multiple joint interactions are critical to produce stable coordinated movements and can be influenced by low back pain and task conditions. Inter-segmental coordination pattern and variability were assessed in subjects with and without chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNSLBP). Kinematic data were collected from 22 CNSLBP and 22 healthy volunteers during repeated trunk flexion-extension in various conditions of symmetry, velocity, and loading; each at two levels.

The effects of a short-term memory task on postural control of stroke patients.

Background: Many studies have been conducted on the changes in the balance capabilities of stroke patients. However, results regarding the effects of dual-task activities on postural control in these patients have been variable.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a short-term memory task on the sway characteristics of stroke patients.

Trajectory of human movement during sit to stand: a new modeling approach based on movement decomposition and multi-phase cost function.

The purpose of this work is to develop a computational model to describe the task of sit to stand (STS). STS is an important movement skill which is frequently performed in human daily activities, but has rarely been studied from the perspective of optimization principles. In this study, we compared the recorded trajectories of STS with the trajectories generated by several conventional optimization-based models (i.

Reliability and validity of the Persian version of Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) to measure functional limitations in patients with foot and ankle disorders.

Objective: To translate the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) into Persian and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of FAAM.

Methods: 93 patients with a range of foot and ankle disorders, completed the Persian version of the FAAM and Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) in the test session. With an interval of 2-6 days, 60 patients filled out the FAAM in the retest session.

Design and evaluation of a novel triaxial isometric trunk muscle strength measurement system.

Maximal strength measurements of the trunk have been used to evaluate the maximum functional capacity of muscles and the potential mechanical overload or overuse of the lumbar spine tissues in order to estimate the risk of developing musculoskeletal injuries. A new triaxial isometric trunk strength measurement system was designed and developed in the present study, and its reliability and performance was investigated. The system consisted of three main revolute joints, equipped with torque sensors, which intersect at L5-S1 and adjustment facilities to fit the body anthropometry and to accommodate both symmetric and asymmetric postures in both seated and standing positions.

In-vitro release of diclofenac diethylammonium from lipid-based formulations.

This article presents the preparation and topical performance of some new lipid-based formulations of diclofenac, namely (a) a diclofenac aqueous gel containing mixed micelles (sodium cholate:egg lecithin molar ratio 0.55); (b) diclofenac lotion that contains soya lecithin, ethanol and buffer; and (c) diclofenac lipogel containing egg lecithin, isopropyl myristate, propylene glycol and ethanol. Gel formulations were prepared using Carbomer 934.