Modelling the spine as a deformable body: Feasibility of reconstruction using an optoelectronic system.

The aims of this study were to develop a kinematic model of the spine, seen as a continuous deformable body and to identify the smallest set of surface markers allowing adequate measurements of spine motion. The spine is widely considered as a rigid body or as a kinematic chain made up of a smaller number of segments, thereby introducing an approximation. It would be useful to have at our disposal a technique ensuring accurate and repeatable measurement of the shape of the whole spine.

Adaptive behaviour of the spinal cord in the transition from quiet stance to walking.

Background: Modulation of nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) excitability was evaluated during gait initiation in 10 healthy subjects to investigate how load- and movement-related joint inputs activate lower spinal centres in the transition from quiet stance to walking. A motion analysis system integrated with a surface EMG device was used to acquire kinematic, kinetic and EMG variables. Starting from a quiet stance, subjects were asked to walk forward, at their natural speed.

Reorganization of multi-muscle and joint withdrawal reflex during arm movements in post-stroke hemiparetic patients.

Objectives: To investigate the behavior of the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) in the upper limb during reaching and grasping movements in post-stroke hemiparetic patients.

Methods: Eight patients with chronic stroke and moderate motor deficits were included. An optoelectronic motion analysis system integrated with a surface EMG machine was used to record the kinematic and EMG data.

Gait pattern in inherited cerebellar ataxias.

Our aim was to perform a comprehensive analysis of the global and segmental features of gait in patients with genetically confirmed inherited ataxias. Sixteen patients with autosomal dominant (spinocerebellar ataxia, SCA1 or 2) or recessive (Friedreich's ataxia, FRDA) ataxia were studied. We used a motion analysis system to record gait kinematic and kinetic data.

Four-week trunk-specific rehabilitation treatment improves lateral trunk flexion in Parkinson's disease.

People with Parkinson's disease (PD) often have a posture characterized by lateral trunk flexion poorly responsive to antiparkinsonian drugs. To examine the effects of a rehabilitation programme (daily individual 90-minute-sessions, 5-days-a-week for 4-consecutive weeks) on lateral trunk flexion and mobility, 22 PD patients with mild to severe lateral trunk flexion, and 22 PD patients without trunk flexion were studied. Patients were evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor subscale (UPDRS-III) score, and the kinematic behavior of the trunk was recorded by means of an optoelectronic system to determine: a) trunk flexion, inclination and rotation values in the erect standing posture; b) ranges of trunk flexion and inclination during trunk movements.

Kinematic and neurophysiological models: future applications in neurorehabilitation.

This paper emphasizes the importance of developing kinematic and neurophysiological methods for evaluating motor and functional recovery in the field of neurorehabilitation. From a review of the literature, it is concluded that optoelectronic motion analysis and neurophysiological techniques, such as the study of nociceptive withdrawal reflex, might constitute useful applications for future research.

Comparison between kinematic and kinetic methods for computing the vertical displacement of the center of mass during human hopping at different frequencies.

Kinematic and kinetic methods (sacral marker, reconstructed pelvis, segmental analysis, and force platform methods) have been used to calculate the vertical excursion of the center of mass (COM) during movement. In this study we compared the measurement of vertical COM displacement yielded by different methods during able-bodied subjects' hopping at different frequencies (varying between 1.2 and 3.

Long-term effects on motor cortical excitability induced by repeated muscle vibration during contraction in healthy subjects.

Objective: The effects of a novel repeated muscle vibration intervention (rMV; 100 Hz, 90 min over 3 consecutive days) on corticomotor excitability were studied in healthy subjects.

Methods: rMV was applied over the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) during voluntary contraction (experiment 1), during relaxation and during contraction without vibration (experiment 2). Focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied before rMV and one hour, and one, two and three weeks after the last muscle vibration intervention.

Modulation of spinal inhibitory reflex responses to cutaneous nociceptive stimuli during upper limb movement.

In the present study we investigated the probability, latency and duration of the inhibitory component of the withdrawal reflex elicited by painful electrical stimulation of the index finger in humans. The stimulus consisted of a train of high-intensity pulses. The investigation was carried out in several upper limb muscles during isometric contractions of different strengths and during a motor sequence consisting of reaching, picking up and transporting an object.

Foot drop and plantar flexion failure determine different gait strategies in Charcot-Marie-Tooth patients.

Objective: To describe the temporal, kinetic, kinematic, electromyographic and energetic aspects of gait in Charcot-Marie-Tooth patients with foot drop and plantar flexion failure.

Methods: A sample of 21 patients fulfilling clinical, electrodiagnostic and genetic criteria for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease were evaluated by computerized gait analysis system and compared to a group of matched healthy subjects. Patients were classified as having isolate foot drop (group 1) and association of foot drop and plantar flexion failure (group 2).

Effects of 8-week strength training with two models of chest press machines on muscular activity pattern and strength.

The purposes of this study were to assess: (i) the effects of 8-week training programs with constrained-path and unconstrained-path chest press machines on 1-RM; (ii) the different activity patterns of selected arm and shoulder girdle muscles during push movement performed on the different machines; (iii) the transfer of the training effects from one machine to the other. Twenty healthy, sedentary women (mean+/-SD age, 24.8+/-1.

Relationship between recovery of calf-muscle biomechanical properties and gait pattern following surgery for achilles tendon rupture.

Background: The relationship between ankle plantar flexor biomechanical properties and gait pattern following surgery for acute rupture of the Achilles tendon has not yet been fully investigated.

Methods: Forty-nine young adults (27 men and 22 women) who underwent surgical repair of a complete Achilles tendon rupture were evaluated at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months by clinical assessment, biomechanical evaluation and gait analysis.

Findings: Ankle range of motion, plantar flexor passive stiffness and concentric strength were recovered within 12 months.

Effectiveness of radial shock-wave therapy for calcific tendinitis of the shoulder: single-blind, randomized clinical study.

Background And Purpose: Radial shock-wave therapy (RSWT) is a pneumatically generated, low- to medium-energy type of shock-wave therapy. This single-blind, randomized, "less active similar therapy"-controlled study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of RSWT for the management of calcific tendinitis of the shoulder.

Subjects: Ninety patients with radiographically verified calcific tendinitis of the shoulder were tested.

Kinematic and electromyographic study of the nociceptive withdrawal reflex in the upper limbs during rest and movement.

This study set out to evaluate nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) excitability and the corresponding mechanical response in the upper limbs during rest and movement. We used a three-dimensional motion analysis system and a surface EMG system to record, in 10 healthy subjects, the NWR in eight upper limb muscles and the corresponding mechanical response in two experimental conditions: rest and movement (reaching for, picking up, and moving a cylinder). The NWR was elicited through stimulation of the index finger with trains of pulses delivered at multiples of the pain threshold (PT).