Biomechanical Effects of Plastic Heel Cup on Plantar Fasciitis Patients Evaluated by Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography.

The plastic heel cup has been adopted to treat plantar heel problems for years. However, its mechanisms and biomechanical effects are yet to be fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the plastic heel cup on the microchamber and macrochamber layers of the heel pad by comparing the stiffness (in terms of the shear wave speed) and thickness of these two layers with and without a plastic heel cup during static standing.

Noise Induced Hearing Loss and Tinnitus-New Research Developments and Remaining Gaps in Disease Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention.

Long-term noise exposure often results in noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Tinnitus, the generation of phantom sounds, can also result from noise exposure, although understanding of its underlying mechanisms are limited. Recent studies, however, are shedding light on the neural processes involved in NIHL and tinnitus, leading to potential new and innovative treatments.

Asymmetric Thickness of Oblique Capitis Inferior and Cervical Kinesthesia in Patients With Unilateral Cervicogenic Headache.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the thickness of the oblique cervical inferior (OCI) and the error of the head reposition test between the painful and nonpainful sides of patients with cervicogenic headache (CeH) and between the patients and the asymptomatic group.

Methods: Thirteen patients (24.5 ± 4.

Spatial-dependent mechanical properties of the heel pad by shear wave elastography.

The heel pad plays an important role in gait, and its biomechanical behavior and functionality are determined by its specialized architecture and mechanical properties. The purpose of this study was to apply supersonic shear wave elastography, an ultrasound-based noninvasive modality that can quantitatively estimate the shear stiffness of the tissue, to investigate the spatial-dependent mechanical properties of the heel pad. Measurements were conducted in 40 heel pads of 20 normal participants aged between 20 and 30 years by shear wave elastography.

Mechanical deformation of posterior thoracolumbar fascia after myofascial release in healthy men: A study of dynamic ultrasound imaging.

Background: Myofascial release (MR) on the posterior thoracolumbar fascia (PLF) is one of the manual techniques aim to restore the normal length and tension of restricted fasciae and muscles.

Objectives: The present study aimed to quantify the immediate effects of MR on fascial properties of the PLF in healthy men.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

An Artifact in Supersonic Shear Wave Elastography.

Supersonic shear wave elastography is a novel ultrasound technology that allows objective evaluation of soft tissue stiffness. The purpose of this study is to report an artifact in supersonic shear wave elastography that may strongly affect the accuracy and quality of the measurement of soft tissue stiffness, and to step-by-step describe how the artifact was found and how it was verified by a series of experiments under different conditions. There were a total of three longitudinal band-like artifacts, 1.

Increased sliding of transverse abdominis during contraction after myofascial release in patients with chronic low back pain.

Purpose: Recent evidence suggested the significance of integrity of the tension balance of the muscle-fascia corset system in spinal stability, particularly the posterior musculofascial junction which is adjacent to dorsal located paraspinal muscles joining each other at lateral raphe (LR). The purpose of this study was to compare the contraction of the transversus abdominis (TrA) at both anterior and posterior musculofascial muscle-fascia junctions in patients with low back pain (LBP) and asymptomatic participants before and immediately after a sustained manual pressure to LR.

Methods: The present observational cohort study used a single-instance, test-retest design.

Modeling and Analysis of the Viscoelastic Response of the Ankle Ligament Complex in Inversion Ankle Sprain.

Since inversion ankle sprain (IAS) damages ankle ligaments and induces changes in their viscoelastic properties, evaluating these properties may provide an approach to assess injury. The study purposes were to investigate how the viscoelastic properties of the ankle ligament complex can be used to quantitatively assess IAS, and to investigate the usefulness of the stretched exponential function to analyze the relaxation behavior of the ankle ligament complex. Fifteen participants with unilateral IAS and 15 controls were included.

Relationship between viscosity of the ankle joint complex and functional ankle instability for inversion ankle sprain patients.

Objectives: Measurement of viscosity of the ankle joint complex is a novel method to assess mechanical ankle instability. In order to further investigate the clinical significance of the method, this study intended to investigate the relationship between ankle viscosity and severity of functional ankle instability.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Quantitative evaluation of the viscoelastic properties of the ankle joint complex in patients suffering from ankle sprain by the anterior drawer test.

Purpose: Biological tissues such as ligaments exhibit viscoelastic behaviours. Injury to the ligament may induce changes of these viscoelastic properties, and these changes could serve as biomarkers to detect the injury. In the present study, a novel instrument was developed to non-invasive quantify the viscoelastic properties of the ankle in vivo by the anterior drawer test.

Quantification of skeletal muscle fibrosis at different healing stages using sonography: a morphologic and histologic study in an animal model.

Objectives: This study attempted to quantify the degree of muscle fibrosis on sonograms of injured gastrocnemius muscles at different healing stages in a rat model. Correlations between the quantifications and histologic assessments of the injured muscles were also determined.

Methods: Sonograms and histologic findings of gastrocnemius muscle fibrosis were obtained during the second, third, and fourth weeks after surgically induced lesions in the right gastrocnemius muscles of 15 Wistar rats.

Bilateral upper limb trainer with virtual reality for post-stroke rehabilitation: case series report.

Purpose: Stroke is a leading cause of disability with many survivors having upper limb (UL) hemiparesis. UL rehabilitation using bilateral exercise enhances outcomes and the Bilateral Upper Limb Trainer (BUiLT) was developed to provide symmetrical, bilateral arm exercise in a 'forced' and self-assistive manner, incorporating virtual reality (VR) to provide direction and task specificity to users as well as action observation-execution and greater motivation to exercise.

Methods: The BUiLT + VR system was trialled on five post-stroke participants with UL hemiparesis: one sub-acute and four chronic.

Reliability and relationship between 2 measurements of transversus abdominis dimension taken during an abdominal drawing-in maneuver using a novel approach of ultrasound imaging.

Study Design: Reliability study of clinical measurement.

Objectives: The primary purpose was to develop a reliable method for measuring muscle length changes of the transversus abdominis (TrA) during contraction. The secondary purpose was to investigate the relationship between changes in thickness and length (as indicated by the lateral sliding of the anterior muscle-fascia junction) of the TrA muscle during an abdominal drawing-in maneuver.

Effects of surgery on the phonation threshold pressure in patients with vocal fold polyps.

Background/purpose: There are few objective measurements to assess the results of surgery for vocal fold polyps. This study investigated the effects of surgery on the phonation threshold pressure (PTP) in patients with vocal fold polyps.

Methods: Prospectively, 32 consecutive patients with vocal fold polyps were enrolled.

Relationship between plantar pressure and soft tissue strain under metatarsal heads with different heel heights.

Background: Metatarsalgia due to increased plantar pressure under the metatarsal head (MTH) is often seen with wearing high-heeled shoes. However, the concomitant soft tissue strain has not been well discussed. The objective of our study was to explore the standing plantar pressure and corresponding soft tissue strain under the metatarsal heads (MTHs) with different heel heights.

Dynamic B-mode ultrasound imaging of vocal fold vibration during phonation.

We used B-mode imaging to study the vibratory phenomena of the vocal folds. The presence of multilayered structures of the vocal folds in the B-mode image was verified by using freshly excised human larynges in vitro. To capture images of vocal fold vibration, a special treatment was used to reconstruct the aliasing B-mode motion pictures of vocal fold vibration.

Diabetic effects on microchambers and macrochambers tissue properties in human heel pads.

Background: The study attempted to highlight the differences of mechanical properties in microchambers and macrochambers between patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and age-matched healthy volunteers.

Methods: A total of 29 heels in 18 diabetic patients and 28 heels in 16 age-matched healthy participants were examined by a loading device consisting of a 10-MHz compact linear-array ultrasound transducer, a Plexiglas cylinder, and a load cell. Subjects in both groups were on average about 55 years old with a body mass index of approximately 25 kg/m(2).

Renal vascular perfusion index in a canine model.

Decreased renal perfusion plays an important role in the progression toward renal failure. In this study, a novel measure was proposed to quantify renal perfusion using canine model. Serial renal vascular images at different vascular areas including the whole vascular tree, interlobar, arcuate and interlobular vessels were captured.

Measurement of cervical multifidus contraction pattern with ultrasound imaging.

Deep muscle training has become the focus of research and exercise for patients with chronic neck pain. The objective of this in vivo study was to establish a non-invasive assessment tool for the activation of deep cervical muscles. The pattern of the change in the thickness of the cervical multifidus is described with a mathematical equation and used to compare the changes among different levels of resistance (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) and at different cervical levels (fourth, fifth, and sixth cervical (C4, C5, and C6) vertebrae).

Laryngeal mechanisms during human 4-kHz vocalization studied with CT, videostroboscopy, and color Doppler imaging.

The objective of this study was to investigate the underlying laryngeal mechanisms during the specific human 4-kHz vocalization. The laryngeal configuration during this vocalization was measured using high-resolution computerized tomographic scan and videostrobolaryngoscopy. The color Doppler imaging (CDI) of medical ultrasound was used to detect the vibrations of glottal and supraglottal mucosa.

Microchambers and macrochambers in heel pads: are they functionally different?

The heel pad consists of a superficial microchamber layer and a deep macrochamber layer. This study highlights the different biomechanical behaviors between the microchamber and macrochamber layers using ultrasonography. The heel pad in each left foot of six healthy volunteers aged approximately 25 yr old was measured with a device consisting of a 10-MHz linear-array ultrasound transducer and a load cell.

Altered energy dissipation ratio of the plantar soft tissues under the metatarsal heads in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a pilot study.

Background: Foot ulceration occurs frequently on the plantar aspect of the metatarsal head region, in which the altered foot biomechanics has been mentioned as a contributor. This study attempted to compare the energy dissipation in the plantar soft tissue under the metatarsal head between type 2 diabetic patients and age-matched healthy subjects in vivo.

Methods: The plantar soft tissues under the metatarsal heads in each left foot of 13 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and eight age-matched healthy subjects were measured with a loading-unloading device.

Measurement of segmental cervical multifidus contraction by ultrasonography in asymptomatic adults.

The deep muscles that play significant roles in maintaining segmental stability have been measured using ultrasonography (US). However, few studies have been carried out to determine the reliability and validity of US for measuring the cervical multifidus during contraction. The aims of this investigation were to evaluate the reliability of the dimensions of the cervical multifidus as measured using US and compare the US measurements with those determined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the gold standard.

Effects of aging on the plantar soft tissue properties under the metatarsal heads at different impact velocities.

The plantar soft tissue properties under the metatarsal heads at different impact velocities in different age groups were measured. Each metatarsus of the left foot in healthy young adults (n = 9, 19 to 35 years old) and in healthy older persons (n = 10, 42 to 72 years old) was examined in vivo using a self-constructed loading-unloading device at low, medium and high impact status; the impact velocities of the device were about 2.5, 5 and 10 cm/s, respectively.

Acute hemodynamic study of Tai-Ta left ventricular assist device in a canine model.

A revised Tai-Ta centrifugal impeller pump was designed to study the interaction of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with the cardiovascular system in a canine model. Six healthy dogs weighing 12-16 kg were used. Blood flows in the aortic arch, the pulmonary artery (PA), and the LVAD outlet were measured simultaneously with the arterial blood pressure (ABP), the pump outflow pressure (POP), and the electrocardiograph (ECG).