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California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Master's Theses

Biomechanics

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Youth Pitching Kinematics: Associations With Body Overweight Parameters, Christina K. Fong Mar 2022

Youth Pitching Kinematics: Associations With Body Overweight Parameters, Christina K. Fong

Master's Theses

The objective of this study was to investigate associations between injury-related kinematic parameters and overweight measures for youth baseball pitchers. The injury-related kinematic parameters considered were measurements 1) at foot contact: stride length, front foot position, shoulder external rotation, shoulder abduction, and elbow flexion; 2) between FC and ball release: peak knee extension; and 3) at BR: shoulder abduction. Data from three separate collection sites examined pitching mechanics of 18 10- to 11-year-old pitchers, 11 14- to 16-year-old pitchers, and 104 16- to 18-year-old pitchers Linear regression analyses were performed to determine significant correlations between kinematic parameters and body mass …


Smartphone-Tape Method For Calculating Body Segment Inertial Parameters For Analysis Of Pitching Arm Kinetics, Jay Sterner Jun 2020

Smartphone-Tape Method For Calculating Body Segment Inertial Parameters For Analysis Of Pitching Arm Kinetics, Jay Sterner

Master's Theses

The objectives of this study were to (1) develop a non-invasive method (referred to as Smart Photo-Tape) to calculate participant-specific upper arm, forearm, and hand segment inertial properties (SIPs) (e.g. mass, center of mass, and radii of gyration) and (2) use those Smart Photo-Tape properties in inverse dynamics (ID) analyses to calculate injury-related pitching arm kinetics. Five 20- to 23- year-old baseball pitchers were photographed holding a baseball and analyzed using the Smart Photo-Tape method to obtain 3-D inertial properties for their upper arm, forearm, and hand. The upper arm and forearm segments were modelled as stacked elliptic cylinders and …


Hip And Knee Biomechanics For Transtibial Amputees In Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training, Greg Orekhov Dec 2018

Hip And Knee Biomechanics For Transtibial Amputees In Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training, Greg Orekhov

Master's Theses

Transtibial amputees are at increased risk of contralateral hip and knee joint osteoarthritis, likely due to abnormal biomechanics. Biomechanical challenges exist for transtibial amputees in gait and cycling; particularly, asymmetry in ground/pedal reaction forces and joint kinetics is well documented and state-of-the-art passive and powered prostheses do not fully restore natural biomechanics. Elliptical training has not been studied as a potential exercise for rehabilitation, nor have any studies been published that compare joint kinematics and kinetics and ground/pedal reaction forces for the same group of transtibial amputees in gait, cycling, and elliptical training. The hypothesis was that hip and knee …


Inverse Dynamic Analysis Of Acl Reconstructed Knee Joint Biomechanics During Gait And Cycling Using Opensim, Megan V. Pottinger Aug 2018

Inverse Dynamic Analysis Of Acl Reconstructed Knee Joint Biomechanics During Gait And Cycling Using Opensim, Megan V. Pottinger

Master's Theses

ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries of the knee joint alter biomechanics and may cause abnormal loading conditions that place patients at a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis (OA). There are multiple types of ACL reconstruction (ACLR), but all types aim to restore anterior tibial translation and internal tibial rotation following surgery. Analyzing knee joint contact loads provide insight into the loading conditions following ACLR that may contribute to the long-term development of OA. Ten ACLR subjects, who underwent the same reconstruction, performed gait and cycling experiments while kinematic and kinetic data were collected. Inverse dynamic analyses were performed on processed …


The Effects Of Obesity On Resultant Knee Joint Loads For Gait And Cycling, Juan Gutierrez-Franco Jun 2016

The Effects Of Obesity On Resultant Knee Joint Loads For Gait And Cycling, Juan Gutierrez-Franco

Master's Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease of cartilage and bone tissue and the most common form of arthritis, accounting for US$ 10.5 billion in hospital charges in 2006. Obesity (OB) has been linked to increased risk of developing knee OA due to increased knee joint loads and varus-valgus misalignment. Walking is recommended as a weight-loss activity but it may increase risk of knee OA as OB gait increases knee loads. Cycling has been proposed as an alternative weight-loss measure, however, lack of studies comparing normal weight (NW) and OB subjects in cycling and gait hinder identification of exercises that may …


A Finite Element Analysis On The Viscoelasticity Of Postmenopausal Compact Bone Utilizing A Complex Collagen D-Spacing Model, Austin C. Cummings Jun 2015

A Finite Element Analysis On The Viscoelasticity Of Postmenopausal Compact Bone Utilizing A Complex Collagen D-Spacing Model, Austin C. Cummings

Master's Theses

The nanoscale dimension known as D-spacing describes the staggering of collagen molecules, which are fundamental to the biphasic makeup of bone tissue. This dimension was long assumed to be constant, but recent studies have shown that the periodicity of collagen is variable. Given that the arrangement of collagen molecules is closely related to the degree of bone mineralization, recent studies have begun to look at D-spacing as a potential factor in the ongoing effort to battle postmenopausal osteoporosis. The theoretical models presented by previous studies have only opted to model a single collagen-hydroxyapatite period, so the creation of an intricate …