Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Influences Of Functional And Psychological Factors On Biomechanics Following An Anterior Cruciate Ligament (Acl) Reconstruction, Chelsey Roe

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Objective: The aims of this research were to identify gaps in the literature related to return to sport (RTS) test batteries following primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) (Aim 1) and define recovery in athletes from 4-9 months after ACLR across three domains: 1) psychological recovery and biomechanics (Aim 2), 2) rehabilitation quantity and biomechanics (Aim 3), and 3) functional performance and biomechanics (Aim 4). Ultimately, the results of this research would quantify recovery following ACLR in athletes with a desire to RTS and identify objective criteria throughout rehabilitation prior to RTS.

Participants: Twenty-two post-ACLR athletes 17 females, 8 males, …

Design And Analysis Of A 3d-Printed, Thermoplastic Elastomer (Tpe) Spring Element For Use In Corrective Hand Orthotics, Kevin Thomas Richardson

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

This thesis proposes an algorithm that determine the geometry of 3D-printed, custom-designed spring element bands made of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) for use in a wearable orthotic device to aid in the physical therapy of a human hand exhibiting spasticity after stroke. Each finger of the hand is modeled as a mechanical system consisting of a triple-rod pendulum with nonlinear stiffness at each joint and forces applied at the attachment point of each flexor muscle. The system is assumed quasi-static, which leads to a torque balance between the flexor tendons in the hand, joint stiffness and the design force applied to …

Longitudinal Adaptations In Muscle Strength, Functional Performance, Gait Biomechanics, And Patient-Reported Function After Unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty, Paul W. Kline

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Objective: The aims of this research were to identify gaps in the literature related to impairments after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) (Aim 1) and define recovery between 3 and 6 months after TKA across four domains: 1) hip and knee muscle performance, 2) functional performance, 3) patient-reported function, and 4) biomechanics of walking and stair descent (Aim 2). Additionally, this project sought to explore the relationships between each domain (Aim 3) and establish predictive models to allow clinicians to use clinical measures to predict future gait biomechanics in patients after TKA (Aim 4). Ultimately, the results of this research would …