STUDY DESIGN: Clinical measurement.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity and reliability of measures obtained using a custom-made device for assessing ankle dorsiflexion motion and stiffness.

BACKGROUND: Limited dorsiflexion has been implicated in the evolution of foot pain in a number of clinical populations. Assessment of ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) is, therefore, commonly performed as part of a foot and ankle examination. Conventional goniometric assessment methods have ...

BACKGROUND: Impairment in intrinsic foot mobility has been identified as an important potential contributor to altered foot function in individuals with diabetes mellitus and neuropathy, however the role of limited foot mobility in gait remains poorly understood. The purpose of our study was to examine segmental foot mobility during gait in subjects with and without diabetes and neuropathy.

METHODS: Segmental foot mobility during gait was examined using a multi-segment kinematic foot ...

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of our study was to examine the relationship between ankle dorsiflexion (DF) range of motion (ROM) and stiffness measured at rest (passively) and plantar loading during gait in individuals with and without diabetes mellitus (DM) and sensory neuropathy. Specifically, we sought to address three questions for this at-risk patient population: (1) Does peak passive DF ROM predict ankle DF ROM used during gait? (2) Does passive ankle stiffness predict ankle stiffness ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare vertical ground reaction forces walking overground with vertical foot-belt forces for treadmill gait.

METHODS: Twenty-four subjects walked overground and on a treadmill at three speeds (slow, normal, and fast), and at comparable cadences and stride length at each of the speeds. Treadmill and overground vertical force curves were normalized to 100% of stance time and compared using Person's product moment correlation. Selected measures ...

The purpose of this study was to quantify the amount of anterior tibial displacement occurring in anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees during two types of rehabilitation exercises: 1) resisted knee extension, an open kinetic chain exercise; and 2) the parallel squat, a closed kinetic chain exercise. An electrogoniometer system was applied to the anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee of 11 volunteers and to the uninvolved normal knee in 9 of these volunteers. Anterior tibial ...

The objective of this study was to compare knee angles and moments of healthy subjects (n=20) and subjects that were anterior cruciate ligament deficient (ACLD) (n=16) during stepping and crossover cutting activities. Subjects that were ACLD were separated into high (n=7) and low (n=9) functioning groups based on knee functional ratings. Knee angles and moments were estimated using three dimensional motion tracking and force plate data. The results suggest that knee angle and moment data ...

Many protocols for rehabilitating the knee following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury or repair call for the use of both weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing exercises. However, not much is known about the strain these exercises place on the passive restraining mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of progressive loading of the knee extensors on anterior tibial translation during weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing isometric exercise. Fourteen subjects ...

The purpose of our study was to examine dynamic foot function during gait as it relates to plantar loading in individuals with DM (diabetes mellitus and neuropathy) compared to matched control subjects. Foot mobility during gait was examined using a multi-segment kinematic model, and plantar loading was measured using a pedobarograph in subjects with DM (N = 15), control subjects (N = 15). Pearson product moment correlation was used to assess the relationship between variables of ...

BACKGROUND: Relapse of idiopathic clubfoot deformity after treatment can be effectively managed with repeat casting and tibialis anterior tendon transfer during early childhood. We evaluated the long-term effects on adult foot function after tibialis anterior tendon transfer for relapsed idiopathic clubfoot deformity during childhood.

METHODS: Thirty-five patients (sixty clubfeet) in whom idiopathic clubfoot was treated with the Ponseti method from 1950 to 1967 were followed. At an ...

Dislocation remains a disturbingly frequent complication of total hip arthroplasty (THA). Over the past several years, increasingly rigorous biomechanical approaches have been developed for studying dislocation, both experimentally and computationally. Realism of the input motion challenge data has lagged behind most other aspects of this body of work, and anterior dislocation maneuvers remain unstudied. To enhance realism of biomechanical studies of dislocation, motion data are here ...

STUDY DESIGN: Case study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare knee kinematics and moments of nongiving way trials to a giving way trial during a combined stepping and crossover cutting activity.

BACKGROUND: The knee kinematics and moments associated with giving way episodes suggest motor control strategies that lead to instability and recovery of stability during movement.

METHODS AND MEASURES: A 27-year-old woman with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency reported giving way while performing a ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of a home-based multiple-speed treadmill training program to improve gait performance in persons with a transfemoral amputation (TFA).

DESIGN: Repeated measures.

SETTING: Research laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with a TFA (N=8) who had undergone a unilateral amputation at least 3 years prior as a result of limb trauma or cancer.

INTERVENTION: Home-based treadmill walking for a total of 30 minutes a day, 3 days per week for 8 weeks. Each ...

OBJECTIVES: To determine which lower-limb joint moments and powers characterize the level of gait performance of older adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA).

DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study.

SETTING: University motion analysis laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling adults (N=60; 27 men, 33 women; age 50-79y) with symptomatic knee OA.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Physical function was measured using the long-distance corridor walk, the ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a lower-body obesity pattern increases estimated forces on the medial compartment of the knee joint.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional clinical biomechanical study.

RESULTS: Nineteen normal weight (body mass index, 22.8 +/- 1.8 kg/m2), 20 centrally obese (body mass index, 35.0 +/- 4.0 kg/m2 and waist-hip ratio >or=0.85 for women; >or=0.95 for men), and 20 lower-body obese (body mass index, 36.4 +/- 5.4 kg/m2) adults aged 37-55 yrs and without knee pain were ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine which lower limb strength and joint kinetic and kinematic parameters distinguish sit-to-stand (STS) performance of older adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) with higher and lower chair stand time.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional.

SETTING: Motion analysis laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (N=49; 26 men, 23 women) aged 50 to 79 years (mean ± SD age, 64.7±8.1y) with radiographic knee OA and daily symptoms, stratified by chair stand times.

INTERVENTIONS: Not ...