Paediatric Prosthetic Knee Design: The Technical Requirements of a Swing Phase Control Mechanism are Correlated with Parameters of Childhood Growth.

Objective: There is a lack of innovation in affordable prosthetic knee joints for children. One significant reason is the absence of technical requirements which consider the foundation of childhood: growth. This study aims to develop and use a modelling tool to determine the technical requirements throughout childhood growth for one prosthetic knee design feature, a swing phase control mechanism (SPCM).

Effect of Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contraception on Musculoskeletal Health and Performance: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Design and Cross-Sectional Comparison.

Background: Women of reproductive age experience cyclical variation in the female sex steroid hormones 17β-estradiol and progesterone during the menstrual cycle that is attenuated by some hormonal contraceptives. Estrogens perform a primary function in sexual development and reproduction but have nonreproductive effects on bone, muscle, and sinew tissues (ie, ligaments and tendons), which may influence injury risk and physical performance.

Objective: The purpose of the study is to understand the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use on bone and calcium metabolism, and musculoskeletal health and performance.

The use of technology to support lifestyle interventions in knee osteoarthritis: A scoping review.

Introduction: Technological tools that promote the adoption of physical activity to increase individuals' functional ability in knee osteoarthritis (OA) are desired to support lifestyle interventions. However, there is little consensus as to the current use of such supportive interventions for knee OA. The aim of this scoping review is therefore to provide an overview on the current use of technology within lifestyle interventions for individuals with knee OA.

Individuals with knee osteoarthritis demonstrate increased passive stiffness of the hip flexor muscles.

Background: People with knee osteoarthritis stand and walk with increased trunk flexion. This altered postural alignment increases hamstring activation, elevating mechanical knee loads during walking. Increased hip flexor stiffness may lead to increased trunk flexion.

The Immediate Effect of Backward Walking on External Knee Adduction Moment in Healthy Individuals.

Backward walking (BW) has been recommended as a rehabilitation intervention to prevent, manage, or improve diseases. However, previous studies showed that BW significantly increased the first vertical ground reaction force (GRF) during gait, which might lead to higher loading at the knee. Published reports have not examined the effects of BW on medial compartment knee loading.

The effect of sex, stature, and limb length on the preferred walk-to-run transition speed.

Background: The preferred walk-to-run transition speed (PTS) for healthy adults is approximately 2 m∙s, however, PTS is influenced by anthropometric factors. Yet despite known sex differences in anthropometrics, studies have reported no sex differences in PTS.

Research Question: Do stature and limb length affect PTS in the same way for both male and female healthy adults?

Methods: Thirty-seven (19 female) non-injured adults volunteered for this study.

Effect of a cervical collar on head and neck acceleration profiles during emergency spinal immobilisation and extrication procedures in elite football (soccer) players: protocol for a randomised, controlled cross-over trial.

When immobilisation after a cervical spine or head injury is required, the role of the rigid cervical collar is unclear and controversial. There is a need for further studies investigating the use of a rigid cervical collar when head and neck trauma occurs in sport. This study will compare present practice (immobilisation with a cervical collar) to the same procedure without a collar during a simulated spinal immobilisation and extraction scenario from the field of play to the side-line in football (soccer).

A new integrated behavioural intervention for knee osteoarthritis: development and pilot study.

Background: Exercise-based approaches have been a cornerstone of physiotherapy management of knee osteoarthritis for many years. However, clinical effects are considered small to modest and the need for continued adherence identified as a barrier to clinical efficacy. While exercise-based approaches focus on muscle strengthening, biomechanical research has identified that people with knee osteoarthritis over activate their muscles during functional tasks.

Effects of intermittent claudication due to arterial disease on pain-free gait.

Introduction: Studies of intermittent claudication gait report inconsistent outcomes. Changes in gait are often attributed to degradation of calf muscles, but causation has not been proven through real-time electromyographic data. Neither have effects of walking speed been fully considered.

Between-day repeatability of lower limb EMG measurement during running and walking.

There are minimal data describing the between-day repeatability of EMG measurements during running. Furthermore, there are no data characterising the repeatability of surface EMG measurement from the adductor muscles, during running or walking. The purpose of this study was to report on the consistency of EMG measurement for both running and walking across a comprehensive set of lower limb muscles, including adductor magnus, longus and gracilis.

Could Relative Movement Between the Adductor Muscles and the Skin Invalidate Surface Electromyography Measurement?

The superficial hip adductor muscles are situated in close proximity to each other. Therefore, relative movement between the overlying skin and the muscle belly could lead to a shift in the position of surface electromyography (EMG) electrodes and contamination of EMG signals with activity from neighboring muscles. The aim of this study was to explore whether hip movements or isometric contraction could lead to relative movement between the overlying skin and 3 adductor muscles: adductor magnus, adductor longus, and adductor gracilis.

Effect of Biomechanical Footwear on Knee Pain in People With Knee Osteoarthritis: The BIOTOK Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Individually calibrated biomechanical footwear therapy may improve pain and physical function in people with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, but the benefits of this therapy are unclear.

Objective: To assess the effect of a biomechanical footwear therapy vs control footwear over 24 weeks of follow-up.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Randomized clinical trial conducted at a Swiss university hospital.

Change in pain and its relation to change in activity in osteoarthritis.

Objective: Trials testing promising interventions in knee osteoarthritis (OA) often fail to show pain reductions. This may be due to change in activity whereby a person's pain decreases, leading them to increase their activity levels, in turn increasing pain back to baseline levels. Using data from a trial of a beneficial treatment for knee pain, we explored whether activity changes might mask a treatment's effect on pain, by looking at whether activity levels increased with effective treatment and whether change in activity level related to change in pain.

The relationship between urinary C-Telopeptide fragments of type II collagen, knee joint load, pain, and physical function in individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: Considering the osteoarthritis (OA) model that integrates the biological, mechanical, and structural components of the disease, the present study aimed to investigate the association between urinary C-Telopeptide fragments of type II collagen (uCTX-II), knee joint moments, pain, and physical function in individuals with medial knee OA.

Methods: Twenty-five subjects radiographically diagnosed with knee OA were recruited. Participants were evaluated through three-dimensional gait analysis, uCTX-II level, the WOMAC pain and physical function scores, and the 40m walk test.

Trunk flexion during walking in people with knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Over 50% of the body's mass is concentrated within the head, arms and trunk. Thus, small deviations in the orientation of the trunk, during normal walking, could influence the position of the centre of mass relative to the lower limb joint centres and impact on lower limb biomechanics. However, there are minimal data available on sagittal kinematics of the trunk in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) during walking.

Influence of the Powers™ strap on pain and lower limb biomechanics in individuals with patellofemoral pain.

Background: Abnormal biomechanics, especially hip internal rotation and adduction are known to be associated with patellofemoral pain (PFP). The Powers™ strap was designed to decrease hip internal rotation and to thereby stabilise the patellofemoral joint.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the Powers™ strap influenced pain and lower limb biomechanics during running and squatting in individuals with PFP.

Patients With Medial Knee Osteoarthritis Reduce Medial Knee Contact Forces by Altering Trunk Kinematics, Progression Speed, and Stepping Strategy During Stair Ascent and Descent: A Pilot Study.

Medial knee loading during stair negotiation in individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis, has only been reported in terms of joint moments, which may underestimate the knee loading. This study assessed knee contact forces (KCF) and contact pressures during different stair negotiation strategies. Motion analysis was performed in five individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis (52.

The role of hip abductor strength on the frontal plane of gait in subjects with medial knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship of hip abductor strength with external hip and knee adduction moments, pain and physical function, and trunk, pelvis, and hip kinematics in the frontal plane during walking in subjects with medial knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Twenty-five subjects with medial knee osteoarthritis were evaluated through an isokinetic strength test for hip abductor, three-dimensional gait analysis (kinetics and kinematics), and pain and physical function scores. Regression models were used to control the influence of other parameters such as pain, age, gender, severity, walking speed, mass, and height.

How does acute pain influence biomechanics and quadriceps function in individuals with patellofemoral pain?

Objectives: Beside pathophysiological factors, pain is believed to play a crucial role in the progression of patellofemoral pain (PFP). However, the isolated effect of pain on biomechanics and quadriceps function has not been investigated in PFP. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of pain on quadriceps function and lower limb biomechanics in individuals with PFP.

The value of tibial mounted inertial measurement units to quantify running kinetics in elite football (soccer) players. A reliability and agreement study using a research orientated and a clinically orientated system.

In elite football, measurement of running kinetics with inertial measurement units (IMUs) may be useful as a component of periodic health examination (PHE). This study determined the reliability of, and agreement between a research orientated IMU and clinically orientated IMU system for initial peak acceleration (IPA) and IPA symmetry index (SI) measurement during running in elite footballers. On consecutive days, 16 participants performed treadmill running at 14kmph and 18kmph.

The Efficacy of a Lateral Wedge Insole for Painful Medial Knee Osteoarthritis After Prescreening: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: Lateral wedge shoe insoles decrease medial knee loading, but trials have shown no effect on pain in medial knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, loading effects of insoles are inconsistent, and they can increase patellofemoral loading. We undertook this study to investigate the hypothesis that insoles would reduce pain in preselected patients.