Footwear and posture. Compensatory strategies for heel height.

The belief that wearing high-heeled shoes increases lumbar lordosis is firmly ingrained in clinical folklore. Proponents of negative heel footwear argue that because high positive heels increase the lumbar lordosis, negative heels will decrease the lumbar lordosis. Quantitative documentation of the assumption regarding high heels is not to be found in the literature, although sporadic attempts to prove this assumption have been made throughout the 20th Century.

Torque development in isokinetic training.

Twenty men were randomized into three groups that performed maximal isokinetic knee extensions five days a week for 12 weeks; a fourth group was a control group. The training protocol was different for the opposite lower extremity of each subject, such that subjects in group I trained at 36 degrees/sec with 20 or 60 repetitions, group II did 20 repetitions at 36 degrees/sec with one limb and 60 repetitions at 108 degrees/sec contralaterally, and group III trained at 108 degrees/sec with 20 or 60 repetitions. Group IV did no training.

Effect on maximal strength of submaximal exercise in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Four Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, with quadriceps of at least antigravity strength, exercised one quadriceps submaximally 4 or 5 days per week for six months. The exercise was done under supervision and consisted of extending one knee from 90 degrees to full extension using the Cybex isokinetic exerciser. The other side was not exercised at all.

Mechanical work and fatigue: their roles in the development of muscle work capacity.

To compare the effects of mechanical work versus fatigue on the improvement of work capacity of muscle, young, healthy men were selected to life a 45-pound weight with their quadriceps for 30 sessions, followed by 5 sessions of testing. The study consisted of two phases. Subjects in the first phase did equal amounts of mechanical work with both quadriceps, but had different amounts of fatigue from side to side because the rate of work was different.

Wheelchair cushions designed to prevent pressure sores: an evaluation.

Seven commercially available wheelchair cushions were tested for their ability to reduce reactive hyperemia in paralyzed patients. The cushions were evaluated daily for seven days on each of three patients. A Latin-square design was used to determine the sequence of evaluation on each of the days, and to control the effect of order of assessment.