Gait & posture
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between plantar pressure distribution and the stiffness, thickness, and cross-sectional area of the plantar fascia (PF) and abductor hallucis (AbH), flexor hallucis brevis (FHB), and flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscles. ⋯ Con-A had a moderate correlation with the thickness and cross-sectional area of PF, AbH, FHB, and FDB. A fair to moderate correlation was found between heel Max-F and the thickness and cross-sectional area of PF, AbH, FHB, and FDB. There is no significant correlation between the SWV of the assessed tissues and plantar pressure distribution parameters. Body mass and BMI had a fair to good correlation with Mean-P, Con-A, heel Max-F, midfoot Max-F, metatarsal Max-F, FTI, thickness, and cross-sectional area of the PF and assessed muscles SIGNIFICANCE: The results suggest that abnormal force, contact area, and higher body mass may cause hypertrophy of the PF and foot intrinsic muscles.
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Anterior pericapsular muscles potentially contribute to active hip joint stability in walking by controlling anterior femoral translation in peak extension. Alternatively, these muscles could flex the hip and tension the anterior capsule to aid initiation of swing. Although never investigated, the location of Iliocapsularis and its extensive anterior hip capsule attachment imply a potential role in these functions. We hypothesised if these muscles contribute to control of femoral head translation (rather than hip flexion), their activation would decrease when peak hip extension is reduced during shorter stride walking. ⋯ Iliocapsularis displayed an EMG burst around toe-off during walking, and greater EMG during mid-late stance in short stride walking, which was not seen in other pericapsular muscles. Shortened strides increase the demand for active tensioning of the hip joint capsule in initial swing, and suggests a role for iliocapsularis during active hip flexion in pain free young individuals.
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Trips and slips, the two most common gait perturbations, often cause falls. Multiple studies have focused mainly on the kinematics of multiple body segments in response to an unexpected trip or slip induced by mechanical obstacles, cables, treadmills, and slippery agents or contaminants on a floor. Few studies have examined the joint moments of the compensatory limb following an unexpected trip on an obstacle. ⋯ This proof-of-concept study is the first to investigate the ankle, knee, and hip moments of the compensatory limb during the first stepping response following unexpected gait perturbations induced by a split-belt treadmill. The findings are expected to improve the gait perturbation paradigms developed for training balance-impaired individuals.
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Altered spine kinematics are a common in people with LBP. This may be especially true for populations such as dancers, who are required to perform repetitive movements of the spine, although this remains unclear. ⋯ Altered transverse plane spine kinematics were evident in dancers with recent LBP for select segments and tasks. This may reflect a protective movement strategy. However, as the effect sizes of observed differences were moderate, and the total number of differences between groups was small, collectively, it seems only subtle differences in spine kinematics differentiate dancers with LBP to dancers without.
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Optical motion capture is a powerful tool for assessing upper body kinematics, including compensatory movements, in different populations. However, the lack of a standardized protocol with clear functional relevance hinders its clinical acceptance. ⋯ Our protocol and functional tasks elicit a degree of movement sensitivity that is not available in current clinical assessments. Our study also provides a comprehensive dataset that can serve as a normative benchmark for quantifying movement compensations following impairment.