Biomechanics Commons^™

A Simple Exoskeleton That Assists Plantarflexion Can Reduce The Metabolic Cost Of Human Walking, Philippe Malcolm, Wim Derave, Samuel Galle, Dirk De Clercq

Journal Articles

Background

Even though walking can be sustained for great distances, considerable energy is required for plantarflexion around the instant of opposite leg heel contact. Different groups attempted to reduce metabolic cost with exoskeletons but none could achieve a reduction beyond the level of walking without exoskeleton, possibly because there is no consensus on the optimal actuation timing. The main research question of our study was whether it is possible to obtain a higher reduction in metabolic cost by tuning the actuation timing.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We measured metabolic cost by means of respiratory gas analysis. Test subjects walked with a simple …

A Comparison Of Upper Extremity Function Between Female Breast Cancer Survivors And Healthy Controls: Typical Self-Report Of Function, Motion, Strength, And Muscular Endurance, Mary Insana Fisher

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Many women who have experienced breast cancer (BC) report continued impairments in upper extremity (UE) function beyond the time required for normal healing after surgical treatment. Most research supporting this has not made comparisons between survivors of breast cancer (BCS) to a sample of healthy women. This lack of comparison to a healthy cohort prevents an understanding of whether continued deficits in UE function are due to normal aging or the BC treatment.

The purpose of this research was to compare quality of life (QOL) and UE function among long term breast cancer survivors and similar aged women without cancer. …

Stroke Survivors Control The Temporal Structure Of Variability During Reaching In Dynamic Environments, Mukul Mukherjee, Panagiotis Koutakis, K.-C. Siu, Pierre B. Fayad, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Learning to control forces is known to reduce the amount of movement variability (e.g., standard deviation; SD) while also altering the temporal structure of movement variability (e.g., approximate entropy; ApEn). Such variability control has not been explored in stroke survivors during reaching movements in dynamic environments. Whether augmented feedback affects such variability control, is also unknown. Chronic stroke survivors, assigned randomly to a control/experimental group, learned reaching movements in a dynamically changing environment while receiving either true feedback of their movement (control) or augmented visual feedback (experimental). Hand movement variability was analyzed using SD and ApEn. A significant change in …

The Appropriate Use Of Approximate Entropy And Sample Entropy With Short Data Sets, Jenna M. Yentes, Nathaniel Hunt, Kendra K. Schmid, Jeffrey P. Kaipust, Denise Mcgrath, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Approximate entropy (ApEn) and sample entropy (SampEn) are mathematical algorithms created to measure the repeatability or predictability within a time series. Both algorithms are extremely sensitive to their input parameters: m (length of the data segment being compared), r (similarity criterion), and N (length of data). There is no established consensus on parameter selection in short data sets, especially for biological data. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine the robustness of these two entropy algorithms by exploring the effect of changing parameter values on short data sets. Data with known theoretical entropy qualities as well as experimental …

Temporal Structure Of Variability Decreases In Upper Extremity Movements Post Stroke, Amit Sethi, Tara Patterson, Theresa Mcguirk, Carolynn Patten, Lorie G. Richards, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Methods: Sixteen participants with chronic stroke and nine age-matched controls performed three trials of functional reach-to-grasp. The amount of variability was quantified by computing the standard deviation of shoulder, elbow, wrist and index finger flexion/extension joint angles. The temporal structure of variability was determined by calculating approximate entropy in shoulder, elbow, wrist and index finger flexion/extension joint angles.

Findings: Individuals with stroke demonstrated greater standard deviations and significantly reduced approximate entropy values as compared to controls. Furthermore, motor impairments and kinematics demonstrated moderate to strong correlations with temporal structure of variability.

Interpretation: Changes in the temporal structure of variability in …

Changes In The Activation And Function Of The Ankle Plantar Flexor Muscles Due To Gait Retraining In Chronic Stroke Survivors, Brian A. Knarr, Trisha M. Kesar, Darcy S. Reiman, Stuart A. Binder-Macleod

Journal Articles

Background

A common goal of persons post-stroke is to regain community ambulation. The plantar flexor muscles play an important role in propulsion generation and swing initiation as previous musculoskeletal simulations have shown. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that simulation results quantifying changes in plantar flexor activation and function in individuals post-stroke were consistent with (1) the purpose of an intervention designed to enhance plantar flexor function and (2) expected muscle function during gait based on previous literature.

Methods

Three-dimensional, forward dynamic simulations were created to determine the changes in model activation and function of the paretic ankle …

Whole-Body Vibration Improves Functional Mobility, Flexibility, And Relative Risk For Falling In The Assisted Living Elderly: A Case Series, Christina Garrity, Harold L. Merriman, C. Jayne Brahler

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Study design: A randomized double blind repeated measures, case series study of whole body vibration (WBV) in the assisted living elderly.

Background: A single exposure to WBV has been shown to have benefit with respect to muscle activity, strength, balance, and power in some studies while other studies have found no benefit. Its overall effectiveness is unknown due to the conflicting findings reported in the literature.

Case description: Six subjects (5 female, 1 male; mean age = 85.4) in an assisted living community volunteered to participate. Subjects were exposed to a single bout of WBV at 0, 2, 20, and …

Implementing Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (Pogil) In Undergraduate Biomechanics: Lessons Learned By A Novice, Shawn R. Simonson, Susan E. Shadle

Kinesiology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry (POGIL) uses cooperative learning activities to teach content and to actively engage students in inquiry, analytical thinking, and teamwork. It has been used extensively in Chemistry education, but its use is not well documented in other areas. This is a summary of the initial implementation of POGIL in a university biomechanics course and includes the benefits, challenges, and recommendations for teachers interested in using this effective instructional strategy.

Preliminary Findings: Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff In Windmill Fastball And Change-Up Pitching, Kevin Mcelwee

Undergraduate Review

Little data have been collected that compare the linear velocity of the ball at release versus the accuracy of the pitch in fast-pitch windmill softball pitching. Previous research suggests that accuracy of a task may decrease as the speed of the task increases. Little research exists that previously compares the speed and accuracy of fastball and change-up pitches in windmill softball pitching. These data may assist the batter in decoding the type of pitch being thrown before the ball is released from the pitcher’s hand. It was hypothesized that the slower change-up pitch might be more accurate and the faster …

The Examination Of Ankle Joint Motion Between Barefoot And Minimalist Running Shoes On Various Inclines, Stephanie Lloyd

Undergraduate Review

Recently various sports footwear companies have produced different types of minimalist running shoes to mimic barefoot walking or running such as Vibram FiveFingers and Nike Free Run shoes. The purpose of this study was to examine the range of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion movements at the foot in barefoot conditions in comparison to Vibram FiveFingers and Nike Free Run minimalist shoes to evaluate if the minimalist footwear would affect ankle joint motion on both flat and inclined surfaces. Five elite female runners were chosen to run on a treadmill for 30s at the speed of 3 m/s on an incline of …

Role Of Satellite Cells In Long Term Fiber Type Shifts, Honglu Liu

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

Muscle fiber type shifts in respect to satellite cells, muscle stem cells, are not well understood currently. The Peterson Lab has generated a mouse model (PAX7-DTA) that ablates satellite cells to determine if these muscle stem cells contribute to mouse muscle fiber type changes over an eight week period. In the study, control and satellite-cell-ablated mouse groups were split into control and overload groups (via synergist ablation surgery) and placed under similar environmental conditions. Eight weeks post-experiment, muscles were dissected to obtain the plantaris muscles of animals from all groups. Muscle cross-sections obtained were immunohistochemically stained, imaged, quantified by fiber …

Psychosocial And Cognitive Function In Children With Nephrotic Syndrome: Association With Disease And Treatment Variables, Panagiota Manti, George Giannakopoulos, Elena Giouroukou, Helen Georgaki-Angelaki, Constantinos J. Stefanidis, Andromahi Mitsioni, Nikolaos Stergiou, Constantinos Mihas, George P. Chrousos, Maria Alexandra Magiakou, Gerasimos Kolaitis

Journal Articles

Background
To investigate possible differences in emotional/behavioral problems and cognitive function in children with nephrotic syndrome compared to healthy controls and to examine the effect of disease-specific and steroid treatment-specific characteristics on the abovementioned variables.

Methods
Forty-one patients with nephrotic syndrome (23 boys, age range: 4.4-15.2 years) and 42 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects (20 boys, age range: 4.1-13.4 years) were enrolled in the study. Disease (severity, age of diagnosis, duration) and steroid treatment (total duration, present methylprednisolone dose and duration of present dose) data were collected. In order to assess children’s emotional/behavioral problems, the Child Behavior Checklist was …

The Effect Of A Short Duration, High Intensity Exercise Intervention On Gait Biomechanics In Patients With Copd: Findings From A Pilot Study, Jenna M. Yentes, Daniel Blanke, Stephen I. Rennard, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Previous work has shown that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) demonstrate changes in their gait biomechanics as compared to controls. This pilot study was designed to explore the possibility that biomechanical alterations present in COPD patients might be amenable to treatment by exercise training of skeletal muscle. This study investigated the effect of a 6-week exercise intervention on gait biomechanics in patients with COPD under both a rest and a non-rested condition. Seven patients with COPD underwent a supervised cardio-respiratory and strength training protocol 2-3 times per week for 6-weeks for a total of 16-sessions. Spatiotemporal, kinematic and …

A Perspective On Human Movement Variability With Applications In Infancy Motor Development, Nikolaos Stergiou, Yawen Yu, Anastasia Kyvelidou

Journal Articles

Movement variability is considered essential to typical motor development. However, multiple theoretical perspectives and measurement tools have limited interpretation of the importance of movement variability in biological systems. The complementary use of linear and nonlinear measures have recently allowed for the evaluation of not only the magnitude of variability but also the temporal structure of variability. As a result, the theoretical model of optimal movement variability was introduced. The model suggests that the development of healthy and highly adaptable systems relies on the achievement of an optimal state of variability. Alternatively, abnormal development may be characterized by a narrow range …

Prosthesis Preference Is Related To Stride-To-Stride Fluctuations At The Prosthetic Ankle, Shane R. Wurdeman, Sara A. Myers, Adam L. Jacobsen, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between stride-to-stride fluctuations and prosthesis preference. Thirteen individuals with unilateral, transtibial amputation consented to participate. Individuals walked on a treadmill for 3 min with their prescribed and an alternate prosthesis. Stride-to-stride fluctuations were quantified with the largest Lyapunov exponent (LyE) of each joint flexion/extension time series. The change in the LyE was calculated for each major lower-limb joint for both conditions. Participants indicated preference between the prostheses on a continuous visual analog scale. The change in the LyE was correlated with the degree of preference between the two prostheses at …

Modeling The Human Gait Phases Using Granular Computing, Melaku Ayenew Bogale

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gait analysis is applied for the provision of diagnosis, evaluation, and for the design of therapeutic intervention for subjects suffering from neurological disorders. The benefits accruing from gait analysis are well established. People with neurological disorders like mild traumatic brain injury, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis, suffer associated functional gait problems. The symptoms and sign of these gait deficits are different from subject to subject and even for the same subject at different stage of the disease. Identifying these gait related abnormalities helps in the treatment planning and rehabilitation process.

The dynamic behavior of gait parameters is cyclic and the …

Modulation Of Cell-Matrix Interaction For Cryopreservation Of Engineered Tissue, Angela Christine Seawright

Open Access Theses

Long term preservation of functional engineered tissues can significantly advance tissue engineering industry and regenerative medicine. Several preservation techniques have been proposed and investigated for this purpose, and cryopreservation is a leading candidate. While tissues are cryopreserved, ice forms in both the extracellular and intracellular spaces and causes freezing-induced spatiotemporal deformation of the tissue. During this process the cells undergo dehydration by the freezing-induced osmotic pressure difference and mechanical deformation, transmitted through cell-extracellular matrix adhesions. However, the significance and interaction of these cellular level transport and mechanics processes are not well understood. Therefore, this study aims to establish mechanistic understanding …

Modeling Of Legged Locomotion With A Suspended Load In The Sagittal Plane, Karna P. Potwar

Open Access Theses

Walking or running while carrying loads has always been a tedious task, more so when the loads are heavy. Such a task of carrying loads not only requires extra effort but also leads to physical pain and in some cases injury. Prior studies on human locomotion with a suspended load have used models that are restricted in their DOFs and so are not able to take into account the fore aft movement in human beings. The objective of this thesis is to model the dynamics of sagittal plane center-of-mass locomotion with a suspended load and apply findings to carrying loads …

The Effects Of A Semi-Rigid Ankle Brace On A Simulated Isolated Subtalar Joint Instability, Julie Choisne, Matthew C. Hoch, Sebastian Bawab, Ian Alexander, Stacie I. Ringleb

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Subtalar joint instability is hypothesized to occur after injuries to the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) in isolation or in combination with the cervical and the talocalcaneal interosseous ligaments. A common treatment for hindfoot instability is the application of an ankle brace. However, the ability of an ankle brace to promote subtalar joint stability is not well established. We assessed the kinematics of the subtalar joint, ankle, and hindfoot in the presence of isolated subtalar instability, investigated the effect of bracing in a CFL deficient foot and with a total rupture of the intrinsic ligaments, and evaluated how maximum inversion range of …

Environmental Effects On The Biomechanics And Motor Physiology Of Elastically Powered Movements In Chameleons, Christopher Van Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental temperature exhibits profound effects on the activity and ecology of ectotherms through its impact on muscle contractile physiology. While the performance of locomotor behaviors powered by muscle contraction directly decreases by at least 33% over a 10°C drop in body temperature, chameleons are known to feed, presumably with high performance, at body temperatures where sympatric lizard species remain inactive. I propose that ballistic movements that are powered by the recoil of preloaded elastic and collagenous tissues are less thermally dependent than movements that rely on direct muscular power. Despite the reduced thermal sensitivity of the elastic-recoil powered movement, I …