A review of evidence on mechanical properties of running specific prostheses and their relationship with running performance.

Background: Although mechanical properties of running specific prostheses (RSPs) can affect running performance, manufacturers do not consistently report them. This study aimed to review existing literature on RSP mechanical and structural properties and their relationship with running performance.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted using keywords related to mechanical properties of RSPs and running performance.

Effects of Two Exercise Programs on Neck Proprioception in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain: A Preliminary Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of specific neck muscle training and general neck-shoulder exercises on neck proprioception, pain, and disability in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain.

Methods: Twenty-five patients with chronic non-specific neck pain were recruited into this preliminary single-blinded randomized clinical trial. They were randomly assigned to either a specific neck exercise (n = 13, mean aged 24 years) or a general neck exercise group (n = 12, mean aged 25 years).

Assessment of knee flexion in young children with prosthetic knee components using dynamic time warping.

Introduction: Analysis of human locomotion is challenged by limitations in traditional numerical and statistical methods as applied to continuous time-series data. This challenge particularly affects understanding of how close limb prostheses are to mimicking anatomical motion. This study was the first to apply a technique called Dynamic Time Warping to measure the biomimesis of prosthetic knee motion in young children and addressed the following research questions: Is a combined dynamic time warping/root mean square analysis feasible for analyzing pediatric lower limb kinematics? When provided at an earlier age than traditional protocols dictate, can children with limb loss utilize an articulating prosthetic knee in a biomimetic manner?

Methods: Warp costs and amplitude differences were generated for knee flexion curves in a sample of ten children five years of age and younger: five with unilateral limb loss and five age-matched typically developing children.

Rehabilitative ultrasound imaging of the levator scapula muscle at rest and during contraction: Technical description and reliability.

Background: Altered scapular muscle activity is associated with abnormal scapular motions and shoulder pain. Hence, quantification of these activities is a challenging issue.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to establish the reliability of measuring levator scapula muscle thickness and to examine how thickness of this muscle changes with contraction.

Influence of non-immersive avatar-based gamification on the Hawthorne Effect in pediatric gait.

Background: The Hawthorne Effect occurs when participants alter their behavior when they are aware that they are being examined. The effect has been reported in many experiments, including gait analysis, and is considered an important source of bias that might impact both clinical and research results. Cognitive distraction is one potential solution to reducing the Hawthorne effect during gait analysis, but it is challenging in children, and can, in itself, alter gait.

Four-Week Ankle-Rehabilitation Programs in Adolescent Athletes With Chronic Ankle Instability.

Context: Researchers have shown that rehabilitation programs incorporating resistance-band and balance-board exercises are effective for improving clinical measures of function and patient-reported outcomes in individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI). However, whether combining the 2 exercises increases improvement is unknown.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of 3 rehabilitation programs on clinical measures of balance and self-reported function in adolescent patients with CAI.

Walking kinematics in young children with limb loss using early versus traditional prosthetic knee prescription protocols.

The traditional treatment protocol for young children with congenital or acquired amputations at or proximal to the knee prescribes a prosthesis without a working knee joint, based in part on the assumption that a child learning to walk cannot properly utilize a passively flexing prosthetic knee component. An alternative to this Traditional Knee (TK) protocol is an "Early Knee" (EK) protocol, which prescribes an articulating prosthetic knee in the child's first prosthesis, during development of crawling and transitioning into and out of upright positions. To date, no study has compared samples of children with limb loss at or proximal to the knee using TK and EK protocols.

Walking and balance in children and adolescents with lower-limb amputation: A review of literature.

Background: Children with lower limb loss face gait and balance limitations. Prosthetic rehabilitation is thus aimed at improving functional capacity and mobility throughout the developmental phases of the child amputee. This review of literature was conducted to determine the characteristics of prosthetic gait and balance among children and adolescents with lower-limb amputation or other limb loss.

Confirmation bias affects user perception of knee braces.

Technological advances in orthopedic devices such as prostheses and orthoses are intended to improve function but may also result in increased complexity and expense. Consequently, accurate determination of effectiveness is important. When devices with advanced technology are used, it is possible that confirmation bias - the tendency for a user to actually experience what he or she expects to experience - will influence outcomes.

The Effects of Walking Surface on the Gait Pattern of Children With Idiopathic Toe Walking.

Idiopathic toe walking treatments are not conclusively effective. This study investigated the effects of walking surface on gait parameters in children with idiopathic toe walking. Fifteen children with idiopathic toe walking and 15 typically developing children aged 4 to 10 years completed the study, which included a barefoot gait exam over three 4-m walkways.

A novel method for the measurement of linear body segment parameters during clinical gait analysis.

Clinical gait analysis is a valuable tool for the understanding of motion disorders and treatment outcomes. Most standard models used in gait analysis rely on predefined sets of body segment parameters that must be measured on each individual. Traditionally, these parameters are measured using calipers and tape measures.

Custom-molded foot-orthosis intervention and multisegment medial foot kinematics during walking.

Context: Foot-orthosis (FO) intervention to prevent and treat numerous lower extremity injuries is widely accepted clinically. However, the results of quantitative gait analyses have been equivocal. The foot models used, participants receiving intervention, and orthoses used might contribute to the variability.

An instrumented wheel system for measuring 3-D pushrim kinetics during racing wheelchair propulsion.

The purpose of this study was to design and validate an instrumented wheel system (IWS) that can measure 3-dimensional (3-D) pushrim forces during racing wheelchair propulsion. Linearity, precision, and percent error were determined for both static and dynamic conditions. For the static condition, the IWS demonstrated a high linearity (0.

Assessing the state of clinically applicable research for evidence-based practice in prosthetics and orthotics.

Evidence-based practice combines a practitioner's training and experience with evidence established through scientific research. Fundamental to the evidence-based process for prosthetics and orthotics is the ongoing availability of clinically applicable research on relevant conditions, components, and patient populations. In the past, research has been successfully applied to practice, sometimes producing substantial changes.

The effect of low-mobile foot posture on multi-segment medial foot model gait kinematics.

A number of in vitro, invasive in vivo, and non-invasive marker based multi-segment foot models (MSFMs) have reported significant motion in the articulations distal to the calcaneus during gait. Few studies, however, have applied a MSFM to the investigation of the effect of foot posture on gait kinematics. Differences in stance phase kinematics between participants with low-mobile (LMF) (n=11) versus "typical" (TYPF) (n=11) foot postures were investigated using a multi-segment medial foot model.

Consistency, precision, and accuracy of optical and electromagnetic shape-capturing systems for digital measurement of residual-limb anthropometrics of persons with transtibial amputation.

Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing systems have been adapted for specific use in prosthetics, providing practitioners with a means to digitally capture the shape of a patient's limb, modify the socket model using software, and automatically manufacture either a positive model to be used in the fabrication of a socket or the socket itself. The digital shape captured is a three-dimensional (3-D) model from which standard anthropometric measures can be easily obtained. This study recorded six common anthropometric dimensions from CAD shape files of three foam positive models of the residual limbs of persons with transtibial amputations.

Comparison of infant head shape changes in deformational plagiocephaly following treatment with a cranial remolding orthosis using a noninvasive laser shape digitizer.

Deformational Plagiocephaly (DP) is a multi-planar deformity of the cranium occurring either pre-or postnatally in infants. In the last decade, the incidence of DP has increased substantially due to a number of factors, including supine sleeping positioning to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the use of child carriers that increase supine positioning. Clinical questions persist about which children should be treated for DP and how to intervene, questions that are difficult to answer without accurate documentation of three-dimensional (3-D) head shape.

Consistency and accuracy of measurement of lower-limb amputee anthropometrics.

Lower-limb amputees often exhibit large fluctuation in residual-limb shape, necessitating careful observation and anthropometric measurement for prosthetists to ensure socket fit. Anthropometric measurement may become more important as an outcome measure indicating success in rehabilitation. This study investigated the accuracy and reliability of seven prosthetic anthropometric measurement devices as used by a group of eight prosthetic-orthotic practitioners and a group of five prosthetic-orthotic students to measure six common anthropometric dimensions on three foam positive models of transtibial amputee residual limbs.

An iterative method for viscoelastic modeling of prosthetic feet.

Prosthetic foot designs are growing in complexity, but a few material and structural properties, including stiffness and viscoelasticity, remain critical to foot function. Consistent identification of these critical properties would aid prosthesis prescription. This investigation evaluates a new technique to model prosthetic feet as a combination of springs and dampers, and therefore characterize a foot's stiffness and viscoelasticity by means of spring and damper coefficients.