Biomechanics Commons^™

Subthreshold Vibration Influences The Posture And Gait Of Transtibial Amputees, Charles Sloan

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Unilateral transtibial amputees lose the afferent pathways of the limb when amputation occurs. The addition of vibration has shown to increase sensation on the applied limb. This study looks into how the addition of subthreshold vibration affects amputee gait and posture. Vibration applied to the residual limb was shown to have worked in posture, but not in gait.

Influence Of Hip Abductor Fatigue On Acl Loading During Single-Leg Landing, Namwoong Kim

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

A musculoskeletal simulation study is necessary to identify the cause-effect relationship between hip abductor weakness and ACL loading during athletic events such as landing and jumping. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of weakness of hip abductors on lower extremity kinematics and ACL loading during single-leg landings. We hypothesized that hip abductor weakness would alter lower extremity joint kinematics. We also hypothesized that hip abductor weakness would increase ACL loading during single-leg landings. This study was a combination of a human experiment and a musculoskeletal modeling simulation. Ten healthy participants performed single-leg landing from a height …

Relationship Between The Mullen Scales Of Early Learning And Posture Control Measures, Lauren Allegra Wehrle

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Key Words: postural sway, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mullen Scales of Early Learning, development

Effect Of The Usage Of Handrails On Gait Dynamics In People With Parkinson's Disease, Daniel Jaravata, Danish Bhatti, Vivien Marmelat

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The purpose of this project is to determine if increasing body stability during handrails-use walking on a treadmill will increase the complexity of gait variability in patients with Parkinsons disease (PD). In young healthy participants, stride time-series of walking presents a pattern of complex variability, but this complexity critically decreases in patients with PD. Complexity is defined as an optimal state between too much regularity and too much irregularity, allowing the locomotor system to maintain robust performances while being able to adapt to perturbations. A possible explanation is that the decrease in complexity results from increased control mechanisms to avoid …

A Novel Task To Decrease Step Width Variability In Older Adults, Andreas Skiadopoulos, Katherine Allen, Nikolaos Stergiou

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Walking is the most common fall-related activity among older adults. Also, older adults experience greater step width variability when walking. Importantly, increased step width variability during walking has been found to be a strong predictor of fall risk and incidence. Therefore, an intervention for reducing increased step width variability may consequently reduce fall risk for older adults. In the present study, we proposed that lateral stepping training program improve walking in older adults by reducing the increased step width variability to normal values. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to determine the effect of a six-week lateral stepping …

The Relationship Between Linear And Nonlinear Analysis On Activity Data, Katlyn J. Nimtz

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Activity monitoring in older adults is a great way to predict disability without interfering in their daily life. We can analyze that data using linear and nonlinear analysis. While linear analysis measures the variation of activity during a specific period of time (i.e., mean, standard deviation), nonlinear analysis focuses on the evolution of activity over a period of time. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to observe the relationship between linear and nonlinear analysis of activity data obtained by activity monitoring in older adults. Eight participants wore an activity monitor around their waist for seven days. Linear analysis was …

The Effects Of Vibrations On The Light Touch Perception Threshold Of Transtibial Amputees, Aaron Robinson

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Sensations from the residual limb and the prosthetic socket interface may be important for mobility/balance following an amputation. One potential way to improve sensation in the residual limb-socket interface is the use of sub-threshold vibrations. We hypothesized that the application of a subthreshold pink noise vibration will improve an amputee’s ability to perceive a light touch stimulus in the residual limb surrounding the area of the amputation. 20 unilateral transtibial amputees (ages 59.7±15 yrs) and seventeen healthy control subjects (ages 54.1±16 yrs) participated. For transtibial amputees light touch sensation threshold (LTST), baseline was tested first and then across 3 conditions …

Circadian Rhythms And Stride-To-Stride Fluctuations: Is There A Connection ?, Joao R. Vaz

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Several physiological systems exhibit rhythmic changes over the course of 24h. A disruption in the CR is thought to represent a risk to the human’s health (e.g., cardiac risk, diabetes). Aging and neurological diseases are known to be characterized by an increased likelihood of circadian disruption. Recently, balance and gait have been shown to exhibit diurnal variations, suggesting a possible influence of CR. Gait is also characterized by a certain level of stride-to-stride fluctuations. In addition, a breakdown in the temporal structure of these fluctuations has recently been associated with aging and neurological diseases. Therefore, it is likely that a …

Standing Posture Is Reliable Across Days And Weeks In Healthy, Young Adults, Jordan Wickstrom

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This paper tests how reliable (consistent) posture is across consecutive days and weeks.

Examining The Minute To Minute Predictability Of Walking Distance Across Multiple Terrains, Tyler Hamer

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

EXAMINING THE MINUTE TO MINUTE PREDICTABILITY OF WALKING DISTANCE ACROSS MULTIPLE TERRAINS

Tyler Hamer, Abderrahman Ouattas, Katlyn Nimtz, & Brian A. Knarr

Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182

With findings that the 6MWT is more efficient than the original 12-minute walk test (12MWT), perhaps it can be evident that even the 6MWT can be shortened to examine its effects in a shorter duration that can be more beneficial to the participant. The objective of this study is to examine the outcomes of each minute throughout the 6MWT trials and to see if functional measures can …

Design Of An Instrumented Cane For Real-Time Force Feedback, Samantha Sack

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Stroke is a major cause of adult disability in the United States, and many affected stroke survivors require the use of an assistive device post-stroke. Even so, the effects of these assistive devices on specific movement outcomes like propulsion in rehabilitation are not well studied. The goal of this study was to develop an instrumented cane capable of recording accurate force data and providing real-time feedback to the user. A standard, single-point cane was instrumented with a force cell that measures force applied to the cane and a motor that vibrates once a threshold value has been applied. The force …

Movement Variability And Sensorimotor Cortical Activation During Forward And Backward Walking, Boman Groff

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Previous research has used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to show that motor areas of the cortex are activated more while walking backward compared to walking forward. It is also known that head movement creates motion artifacts in fNIRS data. The aim of this study was to expand on previous findings by examining cortical activation during forward and backward walking, while also measuring head movement. We hypothesized that greater activation in motor areas while walking backward would be concurrent with increased head movement.

Participants (N=8) performed forward and backward walking on a treadmill. Participants wore motion capture markers on their head …

Quantifying Static And Dynamic Stability Using Mobile Sensors, Mason Schleu

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Balance disorders impact millions of people causing substantial impact on quality of life due to psychological and physical hardships associated with poor balance. However, a clinically relevant, low cost, self-service system in detecting such disorders does not exist. Previous research has shown the built in accelerometer and gyroscope sensors of a smart phone to be valid tools in detecting standing balance performance using traditional linear analysis, however, such a system has yet to be proven useful in detecting dynamic postural variability. Indeed, more quantitative methods than are typically used in clinical settings are necessary for early detection of poor postural …

An Investigation Into The Correlation Between Step Width Variability And Balance Deficits In Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Jordan Freeman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience a higher incidence of falls. Further, gait variability has been shown to be a useful predictor of future falls. It is unknown if balance measures and gait variability are related. Our purpose was to investigate if step width (SW) variability is related to balance deficits in patients with COPD. We hypothesized that functional balance tests will closely correlate to the step width variability as compared to subjective balance questionnaires. Nine subjects with COPD and six controls performed a series of balance measures: sensory organization test (SOT), motor control test (MCT), Fullerton advanced …

The Effect Of Bilateral Vestibular Stimulation On Locomotor Adaptation, Allison Hoover

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Locomotor adaptation requires input from vision, somatosensory and vestibular systems. The contribution of the vestibular system is important for maintaining postural control during gait specifically orientation of the head on the trunk and acceleration (linear and angular) feedback. Disrupting this system causes instabilities during locomotion. However, it is not clear, how much the vestibular system contributes to gait adaptation. Eighteen healthy adults adapted to a split-belt treadmill task with or without additional vestibular perturbation using bilateral mastoid vibration. The symmetry index for step length and step time, as well as the change in standard deviation in stride time for both …

Augmenting Human Muscle Performance Through Added Foot Stiffness, Samuel F. Ray

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In human walking, the relationship between foot and ankle structure and function is not fully known. The foot and toe structures seem to dissipate energy while the ankle generates force through the plantarflexor muscles. Increasing foot stiffness through added carbon fiber insoles has been shown to increase force output and decrease contraction velocity of the ankle plantarflexor muscles. This shift in the muscular force-velocity operating range may be beneficial in fast walking. During fast walking, muscle fascicles contract at high velocities and low force output. We predict that added foot stiffness can reduce the metabolic cost of fast walking by …

A Comparison Of Balance Between A Smoker And Never-Smoker, Robert J. Barber

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) the third leading cause of death in the United States.” “While COPD is defined in terms of fixed airflow limitation, it’s also characterized by the frequent association of complications outside the lung, including compromised balance.” Research has shown “medio-lateral (i.e., side-to-side) balance is altered in patients with COPD compared to controls and is further affected by challenging sensory systems (e.g., eyes closed or uneven surface).” “Smoking increases risk for onset of COPD”, therefore the objective of this study was to investigate balance in smokers. It’s hypothesized that smokers will demonstrate balance deficits, compared to never-smokers. …

Influence Of Neuromuscular Fatigue On The Reliability Of Gait Variability Measures, Nicholas Reynolds

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Walking in healthy young adults displays an optimal pattern of variability from one stride to the next. This level ensures that each step taken is not stereotyped but also not completely unpredictable. Previous studies have investigated differences in stride-to-stride characteristics comparing groups of young to groups of elderly. The consistency of gait variability measures on an individual level remains to be determined. The first aim of this study is to determine the between day and between trial consistency of gait variability measures in healthy young adults. We hypothesize that there will be a high level of consistency from day-to-day and …

Effects Of Serial Subtractions On Elderly Gait Speed In A Virtual Reality Setting, Taylor Leeder

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries in older adults aged 65+ with one in three adults falling each year. Cognitive processes are involved in gait, and thus, as cognitive changes are normative with age, this may impact fall risk in the elderly. Sixteen older adults aged 70.8±5.3 years took part in a dual-task (DT) study where they walked on a split-belt self-paced treadmill with and without a virtual reality (VR) setting while simultaneously performing a serial subtraction (SS) task. For SS, individuals were given a random 3-digit starting number and told to subtract by three from that number …

Treadmill Walking In Claudication, Shane Lentz

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

INTRO. Claudication is lower leg pain that resides with rest. There are two potential causes of claudication: Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS). Vasculogenic claudication is the defining characteristic of PAD. There is little research that exists to differentiate the two forms of claudication and there is little no non-invasive to determine which condition is causing the claudication. The purpose of this study is to utilize biomechanics to distinguish between individuals with claudication that arises from neurogenic versus vasculogenic causes. METHODS. Four LSS subjects completed a walking test on a treadmill (Gardner Test). The treadmill is pressure …

An Investigation In Muscle Activation During Load Carrying, Sidney Baudendistel

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Carrying items is essential to everyday living, but is often reported to be a functional limitation in individuals with respiratory dysfunction. The interaction between breathing and carrying a bimanual load (i.e., carrying an evenly distributed load in each hand) is not well understood and limits the capacity to derive interventions to address functional limitations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of two bimanual loads, 10% and 5% of body weight, on gait. Fourteen healthy, young adults walked with and without a load on each wrist (2.5 and 5% of body weight) using wrist weights. The mean, …