Muscle Synergies in Patients with Medial Knee Osteoarthritis During Level-, Ramp- and Stair Locomotion.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent and severe condition with versatile effects on human locomotion, including alterations in neuromuscular control. Muscle synergies are understood as functional low-dimensional building blocks within the neuromuscular organization. To examine alterations in muscle synergy patterns during locomotion tasks in the presence of KOA, 40 participants, including 20 with medial KOA (KL-Score ≥ 2), performed level walking, as well as ramp and stair ascent and descent trials at self-selected speeds.

Neuromuscular Adaptations Related to Medial Knee Osteoarthritis and Influence of Unloader Braces on Neuromuscular Activity in Knee Osteoarthritis Subjects-A Systematic Review.

Unloader braces are a treatment modality for medial compartment knee osteoarthritis. The functional mechanisms involved are not yet fully understood. Therefore, this two-part systematic review examines the following research questions: How is muscle activation altered by medial compartment knee osteoarthritis, and do medial tibio-femoral compartment unloader braces alter muscle activation? If so, could this alteration be part of the unloading mechanism by affecting the altered muscle activity in medial compartment knee osteoarthritis?A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, LIVIVO, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and CENTRAL for articles published until August 2023.

Biomechanical analysis of different back-supporting exoskeletons regarding musculoskeletal loading during lifting and holding.

Industrial back support exoskeletons (BSEs) are a promising approach to addressing low back pain (LBP) which still affect a significant proportion of the workforce. They aim to reduce lumbar loading, the main biomechanical risk factor for LBP, by providing external support to the lumbar spine. The aim of this study was to determine the supporting effect of one active (A1) and two passive (P1 and P2) BSEs during different manual material handling tasks.

The effect of marathon running on the lower extremity kinematics and muscle activities during walking and running tasks.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common injury among runners, and it is thought that abnormal lower extremity biomechanics contribute to its development. However, the relationship between biomechanical changes after a marathon and PFPS injury remains limited. This study aims to investigate whether differences in knee and hip kinematics and lower extremity muscle activities exist in recreational runners before and after a marathon.

Influence of Surface Geometry on Palm and Fist Contact Pressure Distribution During Strikes With the Hand in Automotive Assembly.

The increase in repetitive strain injuries to the hand underscores the need for assessing and preventing musculoskeletal overuse associated with hand-intensive tasks. This study investigates the risk of overload injuries in soft tissue structures of the hand by analyzing the pressure distribution and location of peak pressure in the hand during snap-fit connection assembly in the automotive industry. The influence of the surface geometry of automotive trim components the pressure distribution and force imparted during strikes with the palm and the fist are investigated in a cohort of 30 subjects with extensive experience installing trim parts with snap-fit connections.

Effects of soft tissue artifacts on the calculated kinematics of the knee during walking and running.

Kinematics of the knee during gait has mostly been studied using optical motion capture systems (MCS). The presence of soft tissue artifacts (STA) between the skin markers and the underlying bone presents a major impediment to obtaining a reliable joint kinematics assessment. In this study, we determined the effects of STA on the calculation of knee joint kinematics during walking and running, through the combination of high-speed dual fluoroscopic imaging system (DFIS) and magnetic resonance imaging technique.

Reliability of Running Stability during Treadmill and Overground Running.

Running stability is the ability to withstand naturally occurring minor perturbations during running. It is susceptible to external and internal running conditions such as footwear or fatigue. However, both its reliable measurability and the extent to which laboratory measurements reflect outdoor running remain unclear.

Are sprint accelerations related to groin injuries? A biomechanical analysis of adolescent soccer players.

Groin injuries have one of the highest incidences in soccer and can be career threatening, especially for adolescents, due to their high recurrence rate. Quick accelerations have been connected to groin injuries along with kicking and change of directions. Purpose of this study was to examine the hip joint kinematics, kinetics and the muscle forces of adductor longus and gracilis during first ground contact of a linear sprint acceleration performed by adolescent soccer players.

Dynamic pressure analysis of novel interpositional knee spacer implants in 3D-printed human knee models.

Alternative treatment methods for knee osteoarthritis (OA) are in demand, to delay the young (< 50 Years) patient's need for osteotomy or knee replacement. Novel interpositional knee spacers shape based on statistical shape model (SSM) approach and made of polyurethane (PU) were developed to present a minimally invasive method to treat medial OA in the knee. The implant should be supposed to reduce peak strains and pain, restore the stability of the knee, correct the malalignment of a varus knee and improve joint function and gait.

Synthesising 2D Video from 3D Motion Data for Machine Learning Applications.

To increase the utility of legacy, gold-standard, three-dimensional (3D) motion capture datasets for computer vision-based machine learning applications, this study proposed and validated a method to synthesise two-dimensional (2D) video image frames from historic 3D motion data. We applied the video-based human pose estimation model OpenPose to real (in situ) and synthesised 2D videos and compared anatomical landmark keypoint outputs, with trivial observed differences (2.11−3.

The effect of vibration on kinematics and muscle activation during cycling.

Vibration has the potential to compromise performance in cycling. This study aimed to investigate the effects of vibration on full-body kinematics and muscle activation time series. Nineteen male amateur cyclists (mass 74.

Comparison of instantaneous knee kinematics during walking and running.

Background: Accurate measurements of in-vivo knee joint kinematics are essential to elucidate healthy knee motion and the changes that accompany injury and repair. Although numerous experimental measurements have been reported, the accurate non-invasive analysis of in-vivo knee kinematics remains a challenge in biomechanics.

Research Question: The study objective was to investigate in-vivo knee kinematics before, at, and after contact during walking and running using a combined high-speed dual fluoroscopic imaging system (DFIS) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technique.

Validation of a Novel Boxing Monitoring System to Detect and Analyse the Centre of Pressure Movement on the Boxer's Fist.

The examination of force distribution and centre of pressure (CoP) displacement is a common method to analyse motion, load, and load distribution in biomechanical research. In contrast to gait analysis, the force progression in boxing punches is a new field of investigation. The centre of pressure displacement and distribution of forces on the surface of the fist during a boxing punch is of great interest and crucial to understanding the effect of the punch on the biological structures of the hand as well as the technical biomechanical aspects of the punching action.

The effects of stature, age, gender, and posture preferences on preferred joint angles after real driving.

Few studies have investigated preferred driving posture involving real-world driving. For this purpose, seven preferred joint angles of 127 participants were recorded three times from sagittal plane photographs after a short, standardized drive on public roads. Participants' individual driving posture preferences were determined using a word-based questionnaire.

Application of a Validated Innovative Smart Wearable for Performance Analysis by Experienced and Non-Experienced Athletes in Boxing.

An athlete's sporting performance depends to a large extent on the technical execution of the athletic motion in order to achieve maximum effectiveness in physical performance. Performance analysis provides an important means of classifying and quantifying athletic prowess in terms of the significant performance aspects of the sport to provide objective feedback. This study aimed to analyze technical execution in terms of punch trajectory, force, velocity and time, considering the expert-novice paradigm by investigating the technical execution of 31 experienced and non-experienced athletes for the four main punching techniques of the cross, jab, uppercut and hook strike.

Validation of a Unique Boxing Monitoring System.

Much development work and scientific research has been conducted in recent years in the field of detecting human activity and the measurement of biomechanical performance parameters using portable sensor technologies, so-called wearable systems. Despite the fact that boxers participating in one of the most vigorous and complex disciplines of all sports, it is one of the disciplines where no noteworthy, advanced performance analytic tools are used for training or for competition purposes worldwide. This research aimed to develop and validate a comprehensive punch performance sensor system for the measurement and analysis of biomechanical parameters in the sport of boxing.

The ability to increase the base of support and recover stability is limited in its generalisation for different balance perturbation tasks.

Background: The assessment of stability recovery performance following perturbations contributes to the determination of fall resisting skills. This study investigated the association between stability recovery performances in two perturbation tasks (lean-and-release versus tripping).

Methods: Healthy adults (12 young: 24 ± 3 years; 21 middle-aged: 53 ± 5 years; 11 old: 72 ± 5 years) were suddenly released from a forward-inclined position attempting to recover stability with a single step.

Control strategies during fast turning manoeuvers - the free moment and its contribution to body rotation and joint loading.

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between ACL relevant knee joint loading and the free (reaction) moment during 90° sidestepping task. It was hypothesized that the specific movement strategy of an athlete will impact this relationship and therefore contribute to joint loading. Functional principal component and canonical correlation analysis were used to understand the nature of free moments and their interaction with 3D joint loading in 52 athletes.

A Comparison of Three Neural Network Approaches for Estimating Joint Angles and Moments from Inertial Measurement Units.

The application of artificial intelligence techniques to wearable sensor data may facilitate accurate analysis outside of controlled laboratory settings-the holy grail for gait clinicians and sports scientists looking to bridge the lab to field divide. Using these techniques, parameters that are difficult to directly measure in-the-wild, may be predicted using surrogate lower resolution inputs. One example is the prediction of joint kinematics and kinetics based on inputs from inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors.

Stability recovery performance in adults over a wide age range: A multicentre reliability analysis using different lean-and-release test protocols.

The ability to effectively increase the base of support is crucial to prevent from falling due to stability disturbances and has been commonly assessed using the forward-directed lean-and-release test. With this multicentre study we examined whether the assessment of stability recovery performance using two different forward lean-and-release test protocols is reliable in adults over a wide age range. Ninety-seven healthy adults (age from 21 to 80 years) were randomly assigned to one out of two lean angle protocols: gradual increase to maximal forward-lean angle (maximal lean angle; n = 43; seven participants were excluded due to marker artefacts) or predefined lean angle (single lean angle; n = 26; 21 participants needed to be excluded due to multiple stepping after release or marker artefacts).

Muscle activity of cutting manoeuvres and soccer inside passing suggests an increased groin injury risk during these movements.

Cutting manoeuvres and inside passing are thought to increase the risk of sustaining groin injuries. But both movements have received little research attention in this regard. The purpose of this study was to investigate the muscle activity of adductor longus and gracilis as well as hip and knee joint kinematics during [Formula: see text]-cutting and inside passing.

Volitional step execution is an ineffective predictor of recovery performance after sudden balance loss across the age range.

Rapid stepping to preserve stability is a crucial action in avoiding a fall. It is also an important measure in the assessment of fall-resisting skills. We examined whether volitional step execution correlates with recovery stepping performance after sudden balance loss for adults of different ages.