Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Shared Contributions Of The Capsule, Labrum, And Bone On The Suction Seal Of The Hip, Alexander J. Hoffer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The hip capsule, labrum, and bone contribute to hip stability. Abnormalities in these structures are associated with pain and microinstability. Previous studies have quantified the individual stabilizing roles of the capsule and labrum and have associated cam over-resection with decreased hip stability.

The first objective of this thesis was to identify the relative biomechanical contributions of the capsule, labrum, and bone to the hip suction seal, as a representation of hip stability. The second objective was to assess the effectiveness of a labral reconstruction in restoring the suction seal after a cam over-resection.

Ten human cadaveric hips were tested in …

Acceleration Profiles Of Adolescent Soccer Players Across A Season, Jake A. Melaro

Doctoral Dissertations

The injury risk inherent to soccer can be affected by external training loads and intrinsic factors. These intrinsic factors (sex, mass, strength, coordination, etc.) in young athletes can be rapidly altered the near their peak height velocity (PHV) during puberty, modifying their movement complexity and, potentially, their injury risk. While quantification of movement complexity through multiscale entropy analysis have been used in past biomechanical investigations, no studies have incorporated this analysis on tibial accelerometry signals collected in these maturing athletes. The purpose of this study is to collect tibial acceleration data from youth soccer athletes during several discrete drills and …

Translational Models For Advancement Of Regenerative Medicine And Tissue Engineering, Kristin Marie Bowers

Doctoral Dissertations

At the root of each regenerative medicine or tissue engineering breakthrough is a simple goal, to improve quality of healing, thus improving a patient’s quality of life. Each tissue presents its own complexities and limitations to healing, whether it is the scarring nature of tendon healing or the mechanical complexity driving bone regeneration. Preclinical, translational models aim to reflect these complexities and limitations, allowing for effective development and refinement of tissue engineered therapeutics for human use. The following body of work explores several of these translational models, both utilizing them for tissue regenerative therapy development and evaluating the benefits and …

Obstacle Crossing In Healthy Young And Older Individuals, Hope M. Hanson, Ashlyn M. Jendro, Abigail C. Schmitt

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: In the United States, the average population age is rising and will continue to increase in the coming years.With an older population comes increased risk of injury associated with falls. Falls are considered a leading cause of injury and death in older individuals, and many falls are caused by body imbalance or obstacle collision due to a clearly visible stationary object (e.g., rug, chair, branch). Older adults tend to cross obstacles with increased toe clearance in order to prevent tripping, but much of what is known about obstacle crossing in older adults is limited to artificial obstacles that are …

Effect Of Amputation On Muscle Structure Properties In A Rabbit Model, Roy Caleb Stubbs

Masters Theses

After amputation, muscles in the residual limb are detached from their insertion points and no longer span the missing joints. Our objective was to quantify the effect of amputation-induced disuse on residual muscle structure, an indirect indicator of muscle force-generating capacity. One hind paw was surgically removed at the ankle joint of ten rabbits. At two weeks (n=5) and 4 weeks (n=5) post-amputation and for select muscles (gastrocnemius, soleus, tibialis cranialis, extensor digitorum, and flexor digitorum superficialis), we measured and computed several muscle structure properties. Additionally, we qualitatively assessed the muscle fiber appearance of histological samples at each timepoint. At …

The Effect Of Golf Bag Load Carriage On Lower Body Force Expenditure, Ryan Collins-Smith

Honors College Theses

Golf is one of the fastest growing sports worldwide and as one of the most difficult sports to excel at, every area of improvement is important. Load carriage, lower body force production, and perceived exertion are keys to improving. The purpose of this project was to investigate the influence of a variety of golf bag load carriage styles on vertical jump performance and perceived exertion. The different modes of golf bag load carriage were no golf bag (1), single-strap golf bag (2), double-strap golf bag above sacrum height (3), double-strap golf bag below sacrum height (4), and push cart for …

How Some Arboreal Salamanders (Genus Aneides) Jump, Glide, And Generate Lift, Christian E. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The jumping and subsequent aerial behaviors of arboreal lungless salamanders (genus Aneides) had never been investigated or described. The aims of this research were to (1) compare jumping performance within the family Plethodontidae with a special focus on arboreal species from genus Aneides, (2) describe the biomechanics and kinematics of aerial behaviors after a jump or extended fall, and (3) model airflow over the morphology of the most aerially adept salamanders to investigate if they are capable of generating lift. First, I recorded salamanders jumping, locomoting vertically, dropping, and flying in a vertical wind tunnel. Then, I laser-scanned and reconstructed …

The Immediate Effects Of The Nunee Patellar Support On Individuals With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, Nick Linn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common form of anterior knee pain caused by general overuse, muscular weakness or strength imbalances, and poor movement coordination leading to abnormal alignment or mal-tracking of the patella. Recent guidelines do not recommend the use of a knee orthosis due to a lack of evidence supporting their effectiveness. A new patellar support (NuNee, K-Neesio LLC.) which uses distraction force to relieve pressure placed on the patella, has been proposed. The purpose of this study was to examine the immediate effects of the NuNee patellar support on perceived pain, biomechanics, and function in individuals with …

A Comparison Of Peak Ground Reaction Forces Of Pitches From The Stretch And Windup, Richard D. Edwards

MSU Graduate Theses

Ground reaction forces can help coaches and players understand the lower extremity biomechanics of pitching in baseball. Research has told us that there are repeatable characteristics of ground reaction forces that pitchers produce during a pitch. This study examines the differences in peak ground reaction forces produced from pitching from the stretch versus pitching from the wind-up. Five variables were recorded for each pitch from the push-off leg and the landing leg. Landing forces were then compared to landing forces of the other pitching style and the same comparison was made for the push-off leg. This was achieved by altering …

Amphisbaenian Head Movement And Burrowing Forces In Damp Granular Media, Jacob Newell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Damp granular media is a difficult environment to study because it is both practically complex and it lacks equations which fully describe its behavior. In this study, an oscillatory lateral head movement and its effects while penetrating damp granular media were tested using a robophysical model. This experimental research was inspired by the burrowing behavior of the clade Amphisbaenia, a group of usually limbless squamates that employ a variety of different burrowing behaviors, but it can apply to a wide range of burrowers. This research could help with both human burrowing technologies and the further investigation of animal behaviors.

The Effects Of Footwear Longitudinal Bending Stiffness On The Energetics And Biomechanics Of Uphill Running, Justin Angelo Ortega

Masters Theses

There has been a prevalence of long-distance running footwear incorporating carbon-fiber plates within their midsoles, effectively increasing their longitudinal bending stiffness (LBS). This modification of modern racing footwear has occurred concurrently with large improvements in running times (Bermon et al., 2021), putting into question how these footwear components affect performance (Muniz-Pardos et al., 2021). The current literature has investigated this at level running, but with the increasing popularity of trail running, it is of interest to investigate whether the benefits found during level running translate to graded running. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to investigate the effects …

Biomechanical Characterization Of Semi-Rigid Constructs And The Potential Effect On Proximal Junctional Kyphosis In The Thoracic Spine, Chloe Cadieux

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Long spinal fusions are the mainstay of treatment in adult spinal deformity; however, proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is a common and potentially catastrophic complication that can occur following this procedure. It has been hypothesized that using semi-rigid constructs at the superior aspect of the instrumentation may decrease this complication. The objective of this thesis was to determine if there is a biomechanical advantage between various semi-rigid constructs utilized in long spinal fusions to help decrease the risk of PJK. Nine human cadaveric spines (T1 – T12) instrumented with the standard all-pedicle-screw construct (APS) were compared to various semi-rigid constructs including …

Assessment Of Postural, Locomotor, And Physical Fitness Status In Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Alana J. Turner

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Postural control and locomotion deficits can be observed during the early years of childhood development and throughout life. For those with disabilities, these deficits can advance past the development years and into adolescence and adulthood while affecting the quality of life and daily activity. Finding interactive rehabilitative activities to delay or limit these deficits is essential for people with disabilities to improve their quality of life, inclusion, and overall movement. Adapted physical activity/sports like badminton and virtual reality could promote improvements in postural and locomotor status for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy (CP), intellectual …

Development And Application Of 3d Kinematic Methodologies For Biomechanical Modelling In Adaptive Sports And Rehabilitation, Anne Marie Severyn

All Dissertations

Biomechanical analysis is widely used to assess human movement sciences, specifically using three-dimensional motion capture modelling. There are unprecedented opportunities to increase quantitative knowledge of rehabilitation and recreation for disadvantaged population groups. Specifically, 3D models and movement profiles for human gait analysis were generated with emphasis on post-stroke patients, with direct model translation to analyze equivalent measurements while horseback riding in use of the alternative form of rehabilitation, equine assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) or hippotherapy (HPOT). Significant improvements in gait symmetry and velocity were found within an inpatient rehabilitation setting for patients following a stroke, and the developed movement …

The Accuracy And Validity Of Self-Reported Throwing Loads And The Characteristics Of Throws By Elite Cricket Players In Australia, Zachariah G. Hoyne

Theses

Objectives: To determine the relationship between elite cricket player’s self-reported and independently observed throwing volume. Examine whether sex, playing position, or time to upload self-reported data post training influences the accuracy of self-reported throwing loads. Describe the type and number of throws performed during elite cricket training, and identify characteristics such as type, distance and accuracy of throws.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: A total of eight female and 18 male professional cricket players participated in the study. Overarm throws from 12 training sessions during the 2020-21 cricket year were observed. Player self-reported throwing volume data were retrieved …

Enforcing A More Complex Notion Of Proper Posture With Pose Estimation, Marco Alessandro Scanni

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Practicing poor posture for many hours throughout the day can lead to a myriad of both physical and mental morbidities. People tend to put their postures in jeopardy for multiple hours per day when using the computer. Pose estimation has the ability to track human positions in real-time with high accuracy and performance. The goal of this thesis is to provide evidence for what proper posture is, and enforce this proper posture through the use of a pose estimation model, namely BlazePose.

The Correlation Between Acl Injury & Concussion, Brandon Michael Phillips

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Concussion (also known as mild traumatic brain injury) is a neurological injury that occurs after a blow to the head or neck area and can have affects to movement based on the severity of the injury. Mild traumatic brain injury has possible linkage to an increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The purpose of this thesis was to assess the impact of prior concussion on lower extremity mechanics that are associated with risk of ACL injury. A total of 11 individuals with prior history of concussion and 11 healthy individuals without prior history of concussion (56.5 months since …

Effects Of Seat And Axle Position On Pain, Pathology, And Independence In Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury, Hannah Frank

Theses and Dissertations

Manual wheelchair (MWC) users with spinal cord injury (SCI) rely heavily on their upperextremities to complete daily occupations. Due to repetitive shoulder use during wheelchair mobility and propulsion, MWC users are at greater risk of shoulder pain and shoulder pathology, and thus decreased independence, and lower quality of life. The relative fit of the wheelchair and its parameters are critical and can further impact the user’s propulsion biomechanics. Parameters such as seat angle and axle position may put the user in detrimental shoulder positions for longer periods of time, impacting health outcomes even more. Although the effects of wheelchair setup …

Therapeutic Intervention Or Rider Influence On The Electromyographic Activity And Kinematics Of Horses, Karen L. Shaw

Masters Theses

Core strengthening and postural stability are desired outcomes of certain therapeutic exercises performed in horses. This study aimed to quantify changes in muscle activation at a walk and trot in horses traveling over eight consecutive ground poles evenly spaced (at 30 inches for walk and 48 inches for trot) in parallel fashion in a straight line, and with hindquarter and abdominal elastic resistance bands applied at 25% stretch. Surface electromyography (sEMG) data were collected for the longissimus dorsi and rectus abdominus muscles in six horses. A 2x2 repeated measures ANOVA was performed for each muscle to test for significant differences …

Visuomotor Adaptation During Asymmetric Walking, Charles Napoli

Masters Theses

Necessary for effective ambulation, head stability affords optimal conditions for the perception of visual information during dynamic tasks. This maintenance of head-in-space equilibrium is achieved, in part, by the attenuation of the high frequency impact shock resulting from ground contact. While a great deal of experimentation has been done on the matter during steady state locomotion, little is known about how head stability or dynamic visual acuity is maintained during asymmetric walking.

In this study, fifteen participants were instructed to walk on a split-belt treadmill for ten minutes while verbally reporting the orientation of a randomized Landolt-C optotype that was …

Subject-Specific Musculoskeletal Modeling Of Hip Dysplasia Biomechanics, Ke Song

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is characterized by abnormal bony anatomy, causes pain and functional limitations, and is a prominent risk factor for premature hip osteoarthritis. Although the pathology of DDH is believed to be mechanically-induced, little is known about how DDH anatomy alters hip biomechanics during activities of daily living, partly due to the difficulties with measuring hip muscle and joint forces. Musculoskeletal models (MSMs) are useful for dynamic simulations of joint mechanics, but the reliability of MSMs for DDH research is limited by an accurate model representation of the unique hip anatomy. To address such challenges, this …

In Vitro Analyses Of The Contributions Of The Hip Capsule To Joint Biomechanics, Emma Donnelly

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Optimal management of the hip capsule during arthroscopic surgery has not been established. The impact of incisions made to the capsule during minimally invasive procedures on joint biomechanics, and whether repair provides any benefit, continue to be debated. The effectiveness of capsular repair to restore native kinematics may be insufficient. Therefore, a better understanding of joint behavior during various capsule conditions is needed. A new robotic system was used to analyze the effect of progressive capsulotomy incision and repairs on the behavior of a normal hip within range of motion (ROM) limits with respect to the intact joint. Complete repairs …

Gait Adaptability With Healthy Aging And Parkinson’S Disease, Daniel Kuhman

All ETDs from UAB

Human locomotion often occurs through environments with complex sets of external demands (e.g., obstacles, uneven surfaces, altered terrain, etc.). Fortunately, humans have developed locomotor systems capable of rapidly adapting gait patterns to navigate these environments. Advanced age and neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) are associated with physiological changes that add to the complexity of locomotion – these individuals must not only adapt to changing environmental demands, but also to changes in internal function (e.g., reduced muscle strength, dysfunctional sensorimotor integration). While there is a growing body of literature indicating that healthy older adults maintain adaptability, less is known …

Biomechanically Inspired Assistive Technology To Restore Movement Of The Upper Limbs After Stroke, Ariel Thomas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A stroke often damages the neural structures responsible for movement. Stroke is a heterogeneous disease, affecting each survivor differently. There are common motor features of a stroke, but even these features vary across time as an individual proceeds through different stages of recovery. The different ways in which stroke motor impairment can present itself are often overlooked, but these differences are fundamental to the understanding of the disease and its recovery. When motor assessments are capable of acquiring information necessary to parse out a detailed profile of each stroke case, this will lead to an improved neuromechanical understanding of the …

Mechanical Deviations And Verbal-Cue Altered Gait In The Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome Population, Walter Menke

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) is an abnormal physical hip morphology that causes functional changes and pain during gait. Mechanical gait differences in this population require further biomechanical investigation to elucidate characteristics unique to this group. Fixed speed gait trials were performed on force plates and analyzed in addition to isokinetic strength testing to find a multitude of biomechanical variables including joint moment, joint power, joint work, and peak joint angle. This work has discovered evidence of muscular deficits at the hip, specifically hip extension, as well as knee joint power contributions to gait when compared to controls. These findings suggest …

Joint Loading Factors Of Articular Cartilage Structure In Healthy And Acl-Injured Knees, Elizabeth Wellsandt

Theses & Dissertations

Articular cartilage structure and chondrocyte health are sensitive and reliant on dynamic joint loading during activities. The risk of osteoarthritis (OA) is high after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, but mechanisms underlying its development are poorly understood. The overall goals of this work were 1) to determine the association between measures of individual and cumulative knee joint loading with T2 relaxation times in the knee cartilage of young individuals without injury and 2) to determine if these same knee joint loading factors are associated with cartilage T2 relaxation time one month after ACL injury. The central hypotheses was that lower …

Assessment Of Landing Biomechanics And Rehabilitation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Sheila S. Gagnon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Aberrant landing biomechanics increase the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and are a focus of rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction. The purpose of the present thesis was to develop and evaluate methods of assessing landing mechanics and investigate the effects of different rehabilitation strategies after ACL reconstruction. Three studies were conducted. The first study used a Delphi process to develop the content of a Clinician-Rated Drop Vertical Jump Scale to evaluate jump landing mechanics during rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction. Twenty experts participated in four rounds of questioning, resulting in 92% agreement for knee valgus collapse, lateral trunk lean, insufficient …

Validation Of An Inertial-Measurement-Unit System For Calculating Hip And Knee Flexion Angles During Gait, Joonsun Park

Master's Theses

Technological advances regarding Inertial Measurements Units (IMUs) have positioned this type of sensor as an alternative for camera-based motion capture. This study introduces a new IMU based system (IMU_sys) to measure hip and knee flexion angles. PURPOSE: To validate the use of a five-sensor IMU_sys for the measurement of knee and hip flexion angles during gait in adults and pediatrics at two different time points. METHODS: Bilateral hip and knee flexion patterns (LH, RH, LK, and RK) of twenty-two healthy participants (12 adults and 10 pediatric) between the ages of 8 – 35 years were investigated. Participants …

An Investigation On The Influences Of Radial Head Hemiarthroplasty Stem Fixation Techniques On Articular Mechanics, Jakub Szmit

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Radial head hemiarthroplasty design has been extensively studied with a focus on utilizing the geometrical characteristics of the native radial dish as a guide of implant placement and design. Although implant design has been studied, optimal radial head implant fixation technique remains unknown. This thesis focused on the effect of stem fit on radiocapitellar contact mechanics, using both finite element and experimental bench-top approaches. Additionally, investigation into the impact of varus/valgus malalignment of the radial head in both the native state and following hemiarthroplasty was conducted. It was found that loose fitting a smooth stem axisymmetric radial head implant through …

Countermovement Jump Assessment For Monitoring Prolonged Fatigue In Collegiate Female Soccer Players, Jeffrey A. Wilkins

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Females are 4 to 6 times more likely to sustain an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury than their male counterparts during running and cutting sports, such as soccer. This sex disparity is thought to result from altered lower limb neuromuscular control that females present when fatigued at the end of practice or games. Yet, current fatigue monitoring techniques typically vary in their reliability, applicability and efficiency. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility of the countermovement jump (CMJ) to quickly and reliably monitor fatigue in female soccer athletes. Methods: Twenty-two (age: 19.3 ± 1.1 yrs, …