Application of ultrasound to monitor in vivo residual bone movement within transtibial prosthetic sockets.

Transtibial prosthetic users do often struggle to achieve an optimal prosthetic fit, leading to residual limb pain and stump-socket instability. Prosthetists face challenges in objectively assessing the impact of prosthetic adjustments on residual limb loading. Understanding the mechanical behaviour of the pseudo-joint formed by the residual bone and prosthesis may facilitate prosthetic adjustments and achieving optimal fit.

Lifestyle factors and psychological factors are associated with central pain processing in service members with persistent low-back pain: A cross-sectional exploratory study.

Persistent low-back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent in the military. Altered central pain processing is one of the mechanisms found to underlie persistent LBP. Our aim was to explore which factors are associated with altered pain processing in Dutch service members with persistent LBP.

A modified passive-dynamic ankle-foot orthosis: can it prevent amputation and arthrodesis in patients with ankle-foot trauma?

Introduction: High-energy lower extremity trauma (HELET) may cause severe damage within the foot-ankle complex. Occasionally, arthrodesis or amputation are the only remaining options to increase activity levels. The modified passive dynamic ankle-foot orthosis (PDAFO) may prove to be a nonsurgical alternative.

Reliability of a novel dynamic test of postural stability in high-level soccer players.

Postural stability of athletes is commonly tested with single-leg stance (SLS) tests. However, for this population, these tests are insufficiently challenging to achieve high sensitivity. Therefore, a new dynamic SLS test based on standardized translational surface perturbations was developed.

Identifying prognostic factors to determine the level of recovery in servicemembers with chronic low back pain: A prospective cohort study.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to identify general and military-related factors that are associated with the level of recovery in Dutch service members with chronic low back pain (CLBP) who followed a rehabilitation program.

Material And Method: One hundred five consecutive service members with CLBP were included in this study. The level of disability, was used to distinguish a recovered and non-recovered group.

A pilot study in the association between Waddell Non-organic Signs and Central Sensitization.

Study Design: A cross-sectional observational multicenter pilot-study was performed within care as usual in three rehabilitation centers in the Netherlands.

Objective: To explore the relationship between Waddell Non-organic Signs (NOS) and Central Sensitization (CS) in patients with chronic back pain.

Summary Of Background Data: A possible relationship between NOS and CS is theoretically plausible, but it has never been tested.

Postdeployment reintegration attitude of injured Dutch service members: a longitudinal study.

Objective: After deployment, service members can experience difficulties reintegrating. Sustaining injuries on the battlefield can disrupt the reintegration period. The first aim was to follow-up the reintegration attitude towards family, work and on a personal level after deployment in Dutch battlefield casualties (BCs).

Lifting capacity is associated with central sensitization and non-organic signs in patients with chronic back pain.

Purpose: To analyze the associations between lifting capacity, and central sensitization (CS) and non-organic signs (NOS) in patients with chronic back pain (CBP) attending vocational rehabilitation.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional observational multicenter study among patients with CBP undergoing a return to work assessment within care as usual. Main analyses: step 1: partial correlation between lifting capacity, and CS, NOS, and additional variables; step 2: multiple regression in stepwise forward method for dependent variable lifting capacity, and for independent variables CS and NOS, and additional variables significant ( < 0.

A longitudinal study of health related quality of life and functioning in severely injured Dutch service members.

Background: Optimal health is demanded for service members in military operations. However, the strains of deployment can result in a deterioration, moreover when combat-related injuries are sustained, affecting level of participation and health related quality of life (HRQOL). Secondary health conditions may occur in time, however existing studies measure coping, level of activity and participation and HRQOL at one point in time.

Long-term participation of Dutch service members with combat-related injury.

Background: After deployment service members need to adapt to civilian life and return to participation in family, vocational and community life.

Aims: To assess the level of activity and participation of service members with combat-related injury after their rehabilitation intervention and to measure the effect of injury severity, adaptive coping, number of deployments and traumatic stress.

Methods: The physical functioning scale of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36 PF), the Assessment of Life Habits short version (LIFE-H), the Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) were administered to service members who sustained combat-related injury.

Axial pelvis range of motion affects thorax-pelvis timing during gait.

During gait, patients with pelvic girdle pain and low back pain demonstrate an altered phase relationship between axial thorax and pelvis rotations (thorax-pelvis relative phase). This could be the result of an increase in axial pelvis range of motion (ROM) which has been observed in these patients as well. To establish this relationship, we investigated if altered axial pelvis ROM during gait affects thorax-pelvis relative phase in 12 healthy subjects.

Toward more reliable stability measurements in stance: recommendations for number of measurements, foot position and feedback -- a cross-sectional study among servicemen.

Background: In the military, insufficient postural stability is a risk factor for developing lower extremity injuries. Postural stability training programs are effective in preventing these injuries. However, an objective method for the measurement of postural stability in servicemen is lacking.

Coping strategies of Dutch servicemembers after deployment.

Background: This study examines the relationship between coping strategies and symptoms of anxiety or depression among Dutch servicemembers deployed to Afghanistan.

Methods: Coping strategies were assessed in 33 battlefield casualties (BCs) and the control group (CTRLs) of 33 uninjured servicemembers from the same combat units using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. A factor analysis was performed, and two clusters of coping strategies were derived, namely, adaptive and maladaptive coping.

Exploratory study for clinical signs of MODIC changes in patients with low-back pain in the Netherlands armed forces.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is being used extensively in the search for pathoanatomical factors contributing to low back pain (LBP) such as Modic changes (MC). However, it remains unclear whether clinical findings can identify patients with MC. The purpose of this explorative study was to assess the predictive value of six clinical tests and three questionnaires commonly used with patients with low-back pain (LBP) on the presence of Modic changes (MC).

Axial Thorax-Pelvis Coordination During Gait is not Predictive of Apparent Trunk Stiffness.

The coordination of axial thorax and pelvis rotations during gait has been shown to be affected by several pathologies. This has been interpreted as an indication of increased apparent axial trunk stiffness, but arm swing may also affect these rotations. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of trunk stiffness and arm swing on the relative timing ('coordination') between thorax and pelvis rotations, and to assess if apparent trunk stiffness can be inferred from thorax-pelvis kinematics.

Dynamic alignment using external socket reaction moments in trans-tibial amputees.

Background: Prosthetic alignment is used to optimize prosthetic functioning and comfort. Spatio-temporal and kinematic gait parameters are generally observed to guide this process. However, they have been shown to be influenced by compensations, which reduces their sensitivity to changes in alignment.

Correction to: Functional Capacity Evaluation in Different Societal Contexts: Results of a Multicountry Study.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the Table 2. The data under column head "Left handgrip strength (n = 336)" was erroneously omitted during the production process. The corrected Table 2 is given below.

Functional Capacity Evaluation in Different Societal Contexts: Results of a Multicountry Study.

Purpose To examine factors associated with Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) results in patients with painful musculoskeletal conditions, with focus on social factors across multiple countries. Methods International cross-sectional study was performed within care as usual. Simple and multiple multilevel linear regression analyses which considered measurement's dependency within clinicians and country were conducted: FCE characteristics and biopsychosocial variables from patients and clinicians as independent variables; and FCE results (floor-to-waist lift, six-minute walk, and handgrip strength) as dependent variables.

Identifying prognostic factors for conservative treatment outcomes in servicemen with chronic exertional compartment syndrome treated at a rehabilitation center.

Background: Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) is a condition of pain induced by exercise, and it is characterized by muscle swelling and impaired muscle function in the lower leg. Given the diversity in the diagnosis and treatment of CECS, it is desirable to determine variables pertaining to prognosis and recovery. The purpose of this study is to identify prognostic factors for conservative treatment outcomes in servicemen with CECS who were treated at a Military Rehabilitation Center.

Combat-related foot injuries: impact on gait and functional outcome.

Introduction: Prior to deployment of the Netherlands Army Task Force Urozgan in Afghanistan, the Dutch Military and civilian healthcare systems had limited experience in treating blast injuries and their long-term consequences. This meant that guidelines for treatment and rehabilitation were lacking. The aim of this cohort study was to quantify kinematic and kinetic abnormalities in service members with foot injuries in relation to functional outcome using gait analysis.

Correction: The Effect of Alignment Changes on Unilateral Transtibial Amputee's Gait: A Systematic Review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Evidence of splinting in low back pain? A systematic review of perturbation studies.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to assess whether LBP patients demonstrate signs of splinting by evaluating the reactions to unexpected mechanical perturbations in terms of (1) trunk muscle activity, (2) kinetic and (3) kinematic trunk responses and (4) estimated mechanical properties of the trunk.

Methods: The literature was systematically reviewed to identify studies that compared responses to mechanical trunk perturbations between LBP patients and healthy controls in terms of muscle activation, kinematics, kinetics, and/or mechanical properties. If more than four studies reported an outcome, the results of these studies were pooled.

Motion-based equilibrium reprocessing therapy a novel treatment method for chronic peripheral vestibulopathies: A pilot study.

Rehabilitation for vestibular disease is a safe method to partially alleviate symptoms of vertigo. It was hypothesized that principles of military aviation vestibular desensitization procedures that have a success rate of more than 80% can be extrapolated to chronic vestibular disease as well.The virtual reality motion base computer-assisted rehabilitation environment was used as treatment modality in 17 patients.

The Effect of Alignment Changes on Unilateral Transtibial Amputee's Gait: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Prosthetic alignment, positioning of a prosthetic foot relative to a socket, is an iterative process in which an amputee's gait is optimized through repetitive optical gait observation and induction of alignment adjustments when deviations are detected in spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters. An important limitation of the current prosthetic alignment approach is the subjectivity and the lack of standardized quantifiable baseline values. The purpose of this systematic review is to investigate if an optimal alignment criterion can be derived from published articles.

Short-Term Results of a Rehabilitation Program for Service Members With Lower Leg Pain and the Evaluation of Patient Characteristics.

Introduction: Lower leg pain (LLP), including medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) and chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS), remains a major problem for the military.

Objective: Evaluation of patient characteristics and short-term results of the rehabilitation program for service members used in the Military Rehabilitation Centre Aardenburg.

Methods: This retrospective study includes 161 service members of the Netherlands Armed Forces.