Engineering Commons^™

Musculoskeletal Adaptation Of Young And Older Adults In Response To Environmental, Physical, And Cognitive Conditions, Amy E. Holcomb

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Accidental falls present a large functional and financial burden among people aged 65 years and older. Falls, injuries associated with falls, and the fear of falling decrease quality of life, physical function, and independence for older adults. To prevent falls, improve stability, and protect joints from damage or injury, the typical response to "challenging" conditions include cautious gait, increase muscle co-contraction, and decreased range of motion. These compensatory strategies are more pronounced in the older adult population with apprehensive "cautious" gait at slower speeds, decreased knee flexion, and increased muscle activation around the knee and ankle. The underlying mechanisms and …

The Effect Of Implant Conformity On Muscle Force Requirements In The Implanted Knee, Grace Mcconnochie

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Implant geometry is a significant factor in determining knee stability and patient satisfaction following total knee replacement (TKR). Ineffective muscle recruitment, impaired joint functionality and increased implant wear are consequences of an unstable knee replacement. Current knee laxity evaluation techniques are limited in their ability to account for the muscular response to knee instability. This study utilizes a subject specific lower-body musculoskeletal finite element (FE) model with dynamic muscle loading to evaluate implant laxity during activities of daily living. The effect of varying implant conformity on the muscle forces required to maintain a target kinematic profile during simulated laxity testing …

Cross Sections Used To Elucidate Differences In Wavelet Transforms Of Ground Force Reactions, Wesley John Orme

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

A study done for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that over 50% of sports related injuries are to the lower extremities [1] with additional studies indicating that females, adolescent through collegiate, have a higher rate of lower extremity sports related injuries than males [2-4]. Conditions surrounding non-contact injuries can be analyzed using ground reaction force (GRF) data from force plates during unanticipated single leg drops, however, the expected gender differences in GRF may not be apparent when viewing data independently in the time or frequency domains.

Graphing the results of a wavelet transform, currently used by scientific, medical, …