Peak impact accelerations during track and treadmill running.

To determine whether peak vertical and horizontal impact accelerations were different while running on a track or on a treadmill, 12 healthy subjects (average age 32.8 ± 9.8 y), were fitted with a novel, wireless accelerometer capable of recording triaxial acceleration over time.

Infrapatellar Straps Decrease Patellar Tendon Strain at the Site of the Jumper's Knee Lesion: A Computational Analysis Based on Radiographic Measurements.

Background: The impetus for the use of patellar straps in the treatment of patellar tendinopathy has largely been based on empirical evidence and not on any mechanistic rationale. A computational model suggests that patellar tendinopathy may be a result of high localized tendon strains that occur at smaller patella-patellar tendon angles (PPTAs).

Hypothesis: Infrapatellar straps will decrease the mean localized computational strain in the area of the patellar tendon commonly involved in jumper's knee by increasing the PPTA.

A preliminary study of patellar tendon torques during jumping.

The etiology of patellar tendinopathy (jumper's knee) has been attributed to a significant increase in patellar tendon torques associated with jumping. While some investigators have suggested that patellar tendon torques are greater during takeoff, little is known about the relative magnitudes of patellar tendon torques during takeoff and landing. We hypothesized that peak patellar tendon torques are greater in jump takeoff than in landing, and that there is a linear correlation between jump height and peak patellar tendon torque.

Patellar tendon strain is increased at the site of the jumper's knee lesion during knee flexion and tendon loading: results and cadaveric testing of a computational model.

Background: Patellar tendinopathy (jumper's knee) is characterized by localized tenderness of the patellar tendon at its origin on the inferior pole of the patella and a characteristic increase in signal intensity on magnetic resonance imaging at this location. However, it is unclear why the lesion typically occurs in this area of the patellar tendon as surface strain gauge studies of the patellar tendon through the range of motion have produced conflicting results.

Hypothesis: The predicted patellar tendon strains that occur as a result of the tendon loads and patella-patellar tendon angles (PPTAs) experienced during a jump landing will be significantly increased in the area of the patellar tendon associated with patellar tendinopathy.

The correlation of segment accelerations and impact forces with knee angle in jump landing.

Impact forces and shock deceleration during jumping and running have been associated with various knee injury etiologies. This study investigates the influence of jump height and knee contact angle on peak ground reaction force and segment axial accelerations. Ground reaction force, segment axial acceleration, and knee angles were measured for 6 male subjects during vertical jumping.

Correlation between ground reaction force and tibial acceleration in vertical jumping.

Modern electronics allow for the unobtrusive measurement of accelerations outside the laboratory using wireless sensor nodes. The ability to accurately measure joint accelerations under unrestricted conditions, and to correlate them with jump height and landing force, could provide important data to better understand joint mechanics subject to real-life conditions. This study investigates the correlation between peak vertical ground reaction forces, as measured by a force plate, and tibial axial accelerations during free vertical jumping.

A sub-microwatt piezo-floating-gate sensor for long-term fatigue monitoring in biomechanical implants.

In this paper we describe an implementation of a novel fatigue monitoring sensor based on integration of piezoelectric transduction with floating gate avalanche injection. The miniaturized sensor enables continuous battery-less monitoring and time-to-failure predictions of biomechanical implants. Measured results from a fabricated prototype in a 0.