Kinesiology Commons^™

The Aging Human Neuromuscular System Expresses Less Certainty For Selecting Joint Kinematics During Gait, Max J. Kurz, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

This investigation quantitatively characterized the certainty of the aging neuromuscular system in selecting a joint range of motion during gait based on the statistical concept of entropy. Elderly and young control groups walked on a treadmill at a self-selected pace. Joint angles were calculated for the ankle, knee and hip. We hypothesized that the aging group would exhibit less certainty in selecting a joint range of motion during gait. Our results supported this hypothesis, and indicated that aged individuals demonstrated statistically less certainty for the knee (16.8%) and hip (24.6%). We suggest that neurophysiological changes associated with aging may result …

Nonlinear Dynamics Indicates Aging Affects Variability During Gait, Ugo H. Buzzi, Nikolaos Stergiou, Max J. Kurz, Patricia A. Hageman, Jack Heidel

Journal Articles

Objective. To investigate the nature of variability present in time series generated from gait parameters of two different age groups via a nonlinear analysis.

Design. Measures of nonlinear dynamics were used to compare kinematic parameters between elderly and young females.

Background. Aging may lead to changes in motor variability during walking, which may explain the large incidence of falls in the elderly.

Methods. Twenty females, 10 younger (20–37 yr) and 10 older (71–79 yr) walked on a treadmill for 30 consecutive gait cycles. Time series from selected kinematic parameters of the right lower extremity were analyzed using nonlinear dynamics. The …

The Spanning Set Indicates That Variability During The Stance Period Of Running Is Affected By Footwear, Max J. Kurz, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Sensory information the foot receives appears to be related to kinematic variability. Since footwear material densities affect sensory information, footwear may be an important factor that dictates variability. This study hypothesized that modifications in footwear would result in changes in kinematic variability during the running stance period. Subjects ran on a treadmill for three conditions: hard shoe, soft shoe and barefoot. The spanning sets of the mean ensemble curves of the knee and ankle changes for each condition were used to define variability. Variability was significantly larger in the barefoot condition in comparison with the two footwear conditions for both …

Three-Dimensional Tibiofemoral Kinematics Of The Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Deficient And Reconstructed Knee During Walking, Anastasios D. Georgoulis, Anastasios Papadonikolakis, Christos D. Papageorgiou, Argyris Mitsou, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Background: It is possible that gait abnormalities may play a role in the pathogenesis of meniscal or chondral injury as well as osteoarthritis of the knee in patients with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency.

Hypothesis: The three-dimensional kinematics of anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees are changed even during low-stress activities, such as walking, but can be restored by reconstruction.

Study Design: Case control study.

Methods: Using a three-dimensional optoelectronic gait analysis system, we examined 13 patients with anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees, 21 patients with anterior cruciate ligament-reconstructed knees, and 10 control subjects with uninjured knees during walking.

Results: Normal patterns of knee …

Spanning Set Defines Variability In Locomotive Patterns, Max J. Kurz, Nikolaos Stergiou, Daniel Blanke

Journal Articles

The purpose of the investigation was to use the spanning set methodology to quantify variability in locomotive patterns and to compare this method with traditional measures of variability. Subjects ran on a treadmill while sagittal plane kinematic data were collected with a high-speed (180 Hz) camera. Changes in variability were evaluated as the subject ran barefoot and in shoes. Mean ensemble curves for the knee angle during the stance period were created for each condition. From these curves, traditional measures of variability were calculated using the coefficients of variation (CVs), and the mean deviation (MD). Spanning set vectors were defined …