Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Reliability And Construct Validity Of The Single-Leg Landing Error Scoring System (Sl-Less) In Physically Active Females, Jennifer E. Earl-Boehm, Madison Mach, Erin Lally, Maegan O'Connor, Hayley Ericksen

Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Official Journal of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association

PURPOSE Single-leg landings are common in sport and often result in injury, however a rubric to evaluate biomechanics during single-leg jump landing (SLL) does not exist. The Single-Leg Landing Error Scoring System (SL-LESS) is a rubric developed to evaluate movement during SLL. The purpose of this study was to 1) determine inter- and intra-rater reliability of the SL-LESS, 2) and determine the content and construct validity of the SL-LESS when evaluating SLL

METHOD 28 healthy females completed SLL on two days while 2D and 3D data were recorded. 3D angles were trunk flexion/lateral-flexion, pelvic tilt/contralateral drop, hip flexion/adduction, and knee …

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 …

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 A 6-Week Intrinsic Foot Morphology, Kinematics, And Kinetics In Individuals With Pes Planus, Rebecca Marszalek, Janet E. Simon, Robert Wayner

Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Official Journal of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association

CONTEXT
The intrinsic foot muscles are vital in supporting the medial longitudinal arch of the foot. Individuals with pes planus have poor foot morphology, strength, and biomechanics, warranting an intervention.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
At pre-intervention, foot posture and arch height were assessed via the Foot Posture Index-6 and the Navicular Drop test, respectively. Cross-sectional area of the abductor hallucis was assessed using ultrasound as an indirect measure of strength. Biomechanical measures, including peak rearfoot eversion, peak tibial internal rotation, peak rearfoot eversion moment, and center of pressure excursion, were collected using 3D-motion capture and an instrumented treadmill. At post-intervention, these …

Angular Momentum In Skilled Kicking Pullover Performed By Elementary School Children, Yutaka Shimizu, Saburo Nishimura, Shoichi Matsushita

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 3: Issue 1, Article 2, 2022. This study aimed to clarify the differences in body positions and the role of the swing leg, support leg, and head-arm-trunk segment in generating and maintaining angular momentum of the whole body about a horizontal bar as well as how to improve the skill level of successful kicking pullover attempts. Two-dimensional kinematic parameters of successful kicking pullover attempts and body composition indices of 26 fifth-grade elementary school children were collected. Their techniques were classified into excellent and good groups based on the subjective evaluation of three evaluators. …

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 …

Head Impact Exposure In Youth And Collegiate American Football, Grace B. Choi, Eric P. Smith, Stefan M. Duma, Steven Rowson, Eamon Campolettano, Mireille E. Kelley, Derek A. Jones, Joel D. Stitzel, Jillian E. Urban, Amaris Genemaras, Jonathan G. Beckwith, Richard M. Greenwald, Arthur C. Maerlender, Joseph J. Crisco

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

The relationship between head impact and subsequent brain injury for American football players is not well defined, especially for youth. The objective of this study is to quantify and assess Head Impact Exposure (HIE) metrics among youth and collegiate football players. This multiseason study enrolled 639 unique athletes (354 collegiate; 285 youth, ages 9–14), recording 476,209 head impacts (367,337 collegiate; 108,872 youth) over 971 sessions (480 collegiate; 491 youth). Youth players experienced 43 and 65% fewer impacts per competition and practice, respectively, and lower impact magnitudes compared to collegiate players (95th percentile peak linear acceleration (PLA, g) competition: 45.6 vs …

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 …

Creating Reel Designs: Reflecting On Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita In The Community, Iris Layadi

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Because of its extreme rarity, the genetic disease arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) and the needs of individuals with the diagnosis are often overlooked. AMC refers to the development of nonprogressive contractures in disparate areas of the body and is characterized by decreased flexibility in joints, muscle atrophy, and developmental delays. Colton Darst, a seven-year-old boy from Indianapolis, Indiana, was born with the disorder, and since then, he has undergone numerous surgical interventions and continues to receive orthopedic therapy to reduce his physical limitations. His parents, Michael and Amber Darst, have hopes for him to regain his limbic motion and are …

Asymmetries In Dynamic Valgus Index After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Kai Yu Ho, Andrew Murata

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) are at a higher risk for subsequent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. Risk factors for ACL injuries likely involve a combination of anatomical, biomechanical, and neuromuscular factors. Dynamic knee valgus has been indicated as a possible biomechanical factor for future ACL injuries. Given that knee valgus is often accompanied by contralateral pelvic drop during single-leg activities, a dynamic valgus index (DVI) that quantifies combined kinematics of the knee and hip in the frontal plane has recently been developed. As the premise of asymmetrical DVI between limbs in the ACLR population has not been …

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 …

A Review Of Applicable Materials For 3d Printing A Biomechanically Accurate Cervical Spine Model For Surgical Education & Case Preparation, Nathaniel Neavling, Mashaal Syed, Adedayo Adetunji, Brandon L. Mariotti, Slah Khan, Jennifer J. Mao, Jeffrey Mullin

Research Day

Objectives: The authors review the literature to compare biomechanical properties of the human cervical spine as determined by cadaveric and finite elemental model (FEM) studies, with commercially available three-dimensional (3D) printing materials to aid in the development of 3D-printed cervical spines that can be used as biomechanically accurate educational tools. Specifically, 3D printing materials for fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers were explored.

Methods: A literature review of biomechanical specifications such as Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s ratio of certain anatomical aspects of the cervical spine was performed by searching the databases PubMed, MEDLINE via Ovid, Wolters Kluwer, ClinicalKey, and EMBASE via …

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 …

Impact Of Parity On Gait Biomechanics, Bekah P. Stein

Masters Theses

Background: Symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) is an incurable condition that affects nearly 50% of adults, and women are twice as likely as men to develop OA. Throughout pregnancy, women experience large changes in morphology and gait mechanics, as well as changes in joint loading. It is possible these adaptations could cause lasting changes postpartum, which may potentially contribute to initiation of OA, thereby increasing the overall risk of OA for women.

Purpose: This exploratory study looked to identify differences between lower limb gait mechanics of healthy nulliparous women and healthy parous women.

Methods: 28 healthy female participants (14 parous, 14 …

Neuromotor Control Of The Hand During Smartphone Manipulation, Prasanna Kumar Acharya

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary focus of this dissertation was to understand the motor control strategy used by our neuromuscular system for the multi-layered motor tasks involved during smartphone manipulation. To understand this control strategy, we recorded the kinematics and multi-muscle activation pattern of the right limb during smartphone manipulation, including grasping with/out tapping, movement conditions (MCOND), and arm heights.

In the first study (chapter 2), we examined the neuromuscular control strategy of the upper limb during grasping with/out tapping executed with a smartphone by evaluating muscle-activation patterns of the upper limb during different movement conditions (MCOND). There was a change in muscle …

The Effects Of A 6-Week Controlled Whole-Body Vibration Training Program In Reducing Falls Risk Among Healthy Older Adults, Fabricio Saucedo Jr.

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Falling is the second leading cause of accidental or injury-related death in the aging population worldwide and a leading cause of serious injury. Whole-body vibration (WBV) training has been implemented as a way to improve functional performance among the elderly and reduce the falls risk. The purposes of this study were: 1) examine to what extent a six-week course of WBV training reduced falls risk and improved fall outcomes in response to slips, and 2) examine whether the benefits of WBV training could be retained at least 2 months after the completion of the entire training session. A total of …

Atv Dynamics And Pediatric Rider Safety, James T. Auxier Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

It has been observed through numerous academic and governmental agency studies that pediatric all-terrain vehicle ridership carries significant risk of injury and death. While no doubt valuable to safety, the post-hoc approach employed in these studies does little to explain the why and how behind the risk factors. Furthermore, there has been no prolonged, widespread, organized, and concerted effort to reconstruct and catalog the details and causes of the large (20,000+) number of ATV-related injuries that occur each year as has been done for road-based motor vehicle accidents. This dissertation takes the opposite approach from a meta-analysis and instead examines …

Gait Entrainment In Coupled Oscillator Systems: Clarifying The Role Of Energy Optimization In Human Walking, Ryan T. Schroeder

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Empirical evidence suggests that parameters of human gait (e.g. step frequency, step length) tend to minimize energy expenditure. However, it is unclear if individuals can adapt to dynamic environments in real time, i.e. continuously optimize energy expenditure, and to what extent. Two coupled oscillator systems were used to test the learned interactions of individuals within dynamic environments: (1) experienced farmworkers carrying oscillating loads on a flexible bamboo pole and (2) individuals walking on a treadmill while strapped to a mechatronics oscillator system providing periodic forces to the body. Reductionist trajectory optimization models predicted energy-minimizing gait interactions within the coupled oscillator …

Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction With Traditional Docking Compared To Novel Surgical Techniques, Kayley D. Guy, Brendon P. Mcdermott, Kaitlin Gallagher, Tyrone Washington

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction (UCLR) is a surgical procedure on one of the main ligaments that provides normal stability for the elbow joint against excessive valgus stress. Damage to this ligament is common in athletes performing overhead throwing activities, primarily baseball players, due to excessive valgus stress during the throwing motion. The most common form of treatment for this type of injury is reconstructive surgery of the ligament, especially if athletes wish to return to sport participation. This type of surgery is extremely invasive and requires extensive post-operative rehabilitation in order to facilitate return to play. To date, many …

Ankle And Midtarsal Joint Quasi-Stiffness During Walking With Added Mass, Andrew M. Kern, Nikolaos Papachatzis, Jeffrey M. Patterson, Dustin A. Bruening, Kota Z. Takahashi

Journal Articles

Examination of how the ankle and midtarsal joints modulate stiffness in response to increased force demand will aid understanding of overall limb function and inform the development of bio-inspired assistive and robotic devices. The purpose of this study is to identify how ankle and midtarsal joint quasi-stiffness are affected by added body mass during over-ground walking. Healthy participants walked barefoot over-ground at 1.25 m/s wearing a weighted vest with 0%, 15% and 30% additional body mass. The effect of added mass was investigated on ankle and midtarsal joint range of motion (ROM), peak moment and quasi-stiffness. Joint quasi-stiffness was broken …

Barbell Trajectory And Kinematics During Two International Weightlifting Championships, Aaron J. Cunanan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several methods have been used in the scientific literature to study the weightlifting pull. Broadly, these methods are used to measure kinematic or kinetic variables exhibited by the lifter, the barbell, or the lifter-barbell system. However, there is an apparent disconnect between weightlifting research and coaching practice that may reduce the perceived benefits of technique analysis among coaches and present some challenges for coaches who seek to incorporate technique analysis into their coaching practice. Differences and trends in the technique of competitive weightlifting performances are apparent from the available literature. However, there are also gaps in the literature due to …

Improved Orthopaedic Repairs Through Mechanically Optimized, Adhesive Biomaterials, Stephen Wheeler Linderman

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Despite countless surgical advances over the last several decades refining surgical approaches, repair techniques, and tools to treat tendon and tendon-to-bone injuries, we are still left with repair solutions that rely on fairly crude underlying mechanical principles. Musculoskeletal soft tissues have evolved to transfer high loads by optimizing stress distribution profiles across the tissue at each length scale. However, instead of mimicking these natural load transfer mechanisms, conventional suture approaches are limited by high load transfer across only a small number of anchor points within tissue. This leads to stress concentrations at anchor points that often cause repair failure as …

An Investigation Of The Biomechanics Of Kinesiology Tape, Jessa Ward

Graduate Theses - Biology & Biomedical Engineering

Kinesiology tape has grown in popularity since its widespread use at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Manufacturers of these colorful tapes have advertised biomechanical benefits for athletes, including pain relief and muscle support, without much quantitative evidence to support these claims. The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the biomechanical aspects of kinesiology tape and how it affects subjects’ muscle activity. This research study evaluated the muscle activity of subjects’ low back before and after tape application during targeted, bodyweight exercises. Each subject’s muscle activity, measured through electromyography (EMG), was normalized and assessed using nonparametric statistical techniques. …

Examining Stance Phases With The Help Of Infrared Optical Sensors In Horses, Ozan Gündemi̇r, Di̇lek Olğun Erdi̇kmen, Zi̇ynet Di̇la Ateşpare, Kozet Avanus

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The purpose of the present study was to examine the walking phases in horses using the OptoGait system, which works with optical sensors. In this pilot study, 52 healthy horses were used. For each horse, an average of 45 steps were examined. The stance phase, swing phase, step distance, and walking speeds of the horses were recorded. The stance phase of each step was examined in a separate manner in 3 steps: contact phase, foot flat, and propulsive phase. The contact phase and the propulsive phase of the forelimb and hind limb were significantly different. The propulsive phase was significantly …

Non-Contact Trapping And Stretching Of Biological Cells Using Dual-Beam Optical Stretcher On Microfluidic Platform, Aotuo Dong, Balaadithya Uppalapati, Shariful Islam, Brandon Gibbs, Ganesan Kamatchi, Sacharia Albin, Makarand Deo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Optical stretcher is a tool in which two counter-propagating, slightly diverging, and identical laser beams are used to trap and axially stretch microparticles in the path of light. In this work, we utilized the dual-beam optical stretcher setup to trap and stretch human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells and mammalian breast cancer (MBC) cells. Experiments were performed by exposing the HEK cells to counter-propagating laser beams for 30 seconds at powers ranging from 100 mW to 561 mW. It was observed that the percentage of cell deformation increased from 16.7% at 100 mW to 40.5% at 561 mW optical power. The …

Freezing Of Gait: Mechanisms, Mechanics, And Management, Peter S. Myers

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease with multiple motor and non-motor symptoms, including postural instability, gait impairments, and cognitive deficits. More than 50% of individuals with PD experience a symptom called freezing of gait (FOG), described as a transient inability to take another step forward. Individuals with PD who experience FOG (freezers) have further postural, gait, and cognitive impairments compared to individuals with PD without FOG (non-freezers). While degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is accepted as the primary etiology of the disease, research shows that the disease has a global impact on the brain, accounting …

Performance Impact Of Different Lower-Limb Setup Positions In The Backstroke Swimming Start, Gordon E. Barkwell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The performance impact of different knee extension angles in the setup position for a backstroke start was evaluated using an instrumented starting surface. Ten backstroke swimmers completed maximum-effort starts in each of two setup positions: one with the knees flexed, and one with the knees extended. The start handles and touchpad were instrumented with tri-axial force plates. Activity of major hip and knee extensors was measured using surface electromyography. Body position was recorded throughout the start using two high-speed cameras. There was no difference in time to 10 m between the two conditions, indicating there is likely no advantage in …