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Objective: This study investigated the effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on the frontal ankle motor control in individuals with chronic ankle instability during drop landing. Design: This was a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial. Thirtysix individuals with chronic ankle instability were randomly assigned to each group. Participants received 6-wk neuromuscular electrical stimulation intervention and sham stimulation in the neuromuscular electrical stimulation and control groups, respectively. Data were collected at week0 and week6. A mixed-effects model and analysis of covariance were employed to investigate the between-group differences in continuous and discrete outcome variables at week6, with the outcome variables at week0 as covariates. Results: Compared to control group, neuromuscular electrical stimulation group exhibited a 2.66° (2.45, 2.86) reduction in frontal ankle inversion angle, a 47.41°/sec (−16.05, −78.77) decrease in peak ankle inversion angular velocity, and a 0.43 Nm/kg (0.18, 0.68) increase in peak ankle eversion moment during drop landing at week6. Conclusions: Applying 6-wk neuromuscular electrical stimulation to the fibularis longus resulted in decreased ankle inversion angle and ankle inversion angular velocity and increased peak ankle eversion moment during drop landing. Consequently, neuromuscular electrical stimulation could be considered an effective modality for individuals with chronic ankle instability to enhance the frontal ankle movement patterns and overall ankle motor control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walking and running at different speeds are common in daily life. This study investigated 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) kinematics of normal knees of Chinese during walking and running. Forty healthy participants were investigated in 4 conditions: comfortable walking, normal walking, slow running and ordinary running. The range of motion (ROM) and peak values in 6 DOF kinematics were analysed. As the speed increased, a general increase in flexion, lateral and proximal translations occurred. Significant increases of ROM in flexion/extension, axial rotation and medial/lateral translations were observed. The ROM of adduction/abduction, anterior/posterior and proximal/distal translations were greatest during normal walking. The maximum and minimum flexion/extension, maximum internal rotation and tibial lateral translations increased with the increase of speed. The maximum and minimum tibial proximal translations in running were found being greater than walking. A phenomenon between walking and running was observed: both tibial proximal/distal and medial/lateral translations increased when changed from walking to running. Non-linear transition exists in 6 DOF kinematics during walking to running. Discoveries in this study may have potential clinical values to serve as references of normal walking and running in the management of knee injury and knee rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of stroke rate and sex on trunk and shoulder kinematics of Olympic athletes during rowing on an ergometer. Fifty-eight participants (31 females and 27 males) from the Chinese National Rowing Team were recruited. Trunk (i.e., the pelvis, lumbar and thoracic spine) and shoulder kinematics were measured using an inertial measurement unit system for three stroke rates (18, 26, and 32 strokes/min). Range of motion and angles at the catch and finish were assessed using mixed model ANOVA and correlation analyses with rowing power. Range of motion increased significantly at higher rates for both female and male athletes. This may be a strategy used by athletes when dealing with higher demand for power during training, because a greater range of motion with a longer stroke length could reduce the demand for force generation and possibly delay fatigue. Female rowers exhibited greater range of motion in the lumbar spine, thorax and shoulders than males due to more extended positions at the finish. The sex-related kinematic differences may be attributed to differences in body size, muscle strength and endurance. Practitioners are recommended to consider these factors when developing rowing techniques and providing training suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Proprioception is essential for the normal movement of knee joints. How proprioception training affects the postoperative knee functional recovery after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of proprioception training on the knee joint kinematics of patients after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). METHODS: The randomized controlled study was performed at the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital between December 2019 and April 2021. Forty-five patients who underwent ACLR were randomly divided into a proprioception group (n = 23) and a control group (n = 22). The patients were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group according to whether the final digits of their ID numbers were odd or even. All patients followed a common postoperative rehabilitation program. The outcome measures included the patients Lysholm scores, hop distances, and knee kinematics during unanticipated jump-cut maneuvering measured at different follow-up times. Knee joint kinematics were described as the positional and orientational changes of the femur relative to the tibia. RESULTS: After surgery, the proprioception group did not exhibit significantly higher hop distances than the control group at the 6-month (114.8 ± 19.0 vs. 105.9 ± 20.7 cm, p = 0.137, 95% CI: - 3.13 to 22.03 cm) and 1-year follow-ups (143.1 ± 19.3 vs. 133.9 ± 26.2 cm, p = 0.216, 95% CI: - 5.57 to 23.87 cm). For knee joint kinematics, the members of the proprioception training group exhibited significantly reduced knee abduction (valgus) angles and external rotation and significantly increased knee flexion compared to those in the common training group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that proprioceptive rehabilitation training enhances knee joint functional performance and shows altered knee joint kinematics in ACL-reconstructed populations during unanticipated jump-cut maneuvering compared with the common rehabilitation training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Axial disturbances are the most disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Kinect-based objective measures could extract motion characteristics with high reliability and validity. Purpose: The present research aimed to quantify the therapy-response of axial motor symptoms to daily medication regimen and to explore the correlates of the improvement rate (IR) of axial motor symptoms based on a Kinect camera. Materials and methods: We enrolled 44 patients with PD and 21 healthy controls. All 65 participants performed the Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III and the Kinect-based kinematic evaluation to assess arising from a chair, gait, posture, and postural stability before and after medication. Spearman's correlation analysis and multiple linear regression model were performed to explore the relationships between motor feature IR and clinical data. Results: All the features arising from a chair (P = 0.001), stride length (P = 0.001), velocity (P < 0.001), the height of foot lift (P < 0.001), and turning time (P = 0.001) improved significantly after a daily drug regimen in patients with PD. In addition, the anterior trunk flexion (lumbar level) exhibited significant improvement (P = 0.004). The IR of the axial motor symptoms score was significantly correlated with the IRs of kinematic features for gait velocity, stride length, foot lift height, and sitting speed (rs = 0.345, P = 0.022; rs = 0.382, P = 0.010; rs = 0.314, P = 0.038; rs = 0.518, P < 0.001, respectively). A multivariable regression analysis showed that the improvement in axial motor symptoms was associated with the IR of gait velocity only (β = 0.593, 95% CI = 0.023-1.164, P = 0.042). Conclusion: Axial symptoms were not completely drug-resistant, and some kinematic features can be improved after the daily medication regimen of patients with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the acute changes in kinematics and kinetics when an additional load equivalent to 5% body mass was attached to the torso during change of direction (COD). In this within-subject repeated measures study, 14 male soccer players (age: 18.29 ± 0.32 years) volunteered to participate. Subjects performed COD under two conditions in randomized order: (1) no WR, and (2) with WR. No significant differences between the loaded and unloaded conditions in actual COD angle, approach speed, braking time, propulsive time, contact time, COD completion time (all p > 0.05, ES = 0.05–0.11), and all measured kinematic parameters (all p > 0.05, ES = 0–0.18). Nonetheless, ankle plantar/dorsi flexion ROM had possibly small increase in the loaded condition (ES = 0.24). Kinetics analysis has shown that the loaded condition was likely to have small increase in relative peak vertical propulsive ground reaction force (GRF, p = 0.11, ES = 0.41), and possible small increases in relative peak braking GRF (vertical: p = 0.21, ES = 0.42; total: p = 0.22, ES = 0.38), relative peak total propulsive GRF (p = 0.24, ES = 0.26), and relative braking impulse (horizontal, vertical, and total; p = 0.27–0.41, ES = 0.26–0.28). WR did not significantly change the acute movement techniques, meanwhile induced small increases in important kinetic stimuli for potential adaptation in COD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous studies have investigated kinematic alterations in patients with an isolated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. However, a substantial proportion of patients with injured ACLs also have concomitant meniscal tears. Purpose: To evaluate the in vivo alteration of knee kinematics after an ACL tear, with or without a combined medial or lateral meniscal tear, during level walking activity. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Fifty-six patients with unilateral ACL-deficient (ACLD) knees were studied. Among these patients, 15 had isolated ACL injuries (group 1), 15 had combined ACL and medial meniscal injuries (group 2), 15 had combined ACL and lateral meniscal injuries (group 3), and 11 had combined ACL and medial/lateral meniscal injuries (group 4). The kinematics of each knee was determined using an optical tracking system during treadmill gait. Range of motion (ROM) and kinematic alterations were compared between the contralateral ACL-intact (ACLI) and ACLD knees. Results: All ACLD knees, with or without meniscal deficiency, had significantly less flexion than the ACLI knees (~3°-8°; P < .05). In groups 1, 3, and 4, the injured knees exhibited more femoral external rotation by approximately 1° to 2° (P < .05). Group 4 showed posterior femoral translation (anterior tibial translation) in the swing phase (~13 mm), while groups 2 and 3 showed increased anterior femoral translation (~2-3 mm). During medial-lateral translation, patients in group 2 had a more medial femoral shift (~4 mm) relative to the tibia initially, while those in group 4 exhibited a lateral femoral shift. Conclusion: The results indicate that meniscal injuries alter the kinematics of the ACLD knee when compared with knees with an isolated ACL injury. The location of the meniscal tear also affects knee kinematics. Clinical Relevance: Considering the varying effects of meniscal injuries on knee joint kinematics, these data provide insight into the pathological function of the ACL-injured knee joint during walking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. This study was designed to evaluate the function of the foot undergoing the procedure of percutaneous Achilles tenotomy (PAT) in case of clubfoot management in terms of gait analysis. Methods. Nineteen patients with unilateral clubfeet were retrospectively reviewed from our database from July 2012 to June 2016. The result in all the cases was rated as excellent according to the scale of International Clubfoot Study Group (ICSG). The affected sides were taken as Group CF and the contralateral sides as Group CL. Three-dimensional gait analysis was applied for the functional evaluation of the involved foot. Results. Statistical difference was found in physical parameters of passive ankle dorsiflexion and plantar-flexion. No statistical difference was found in temporal-spatial parameters. There was statistical difference in kinematic parameters of total ankle rotation, ankle range of motion, and internal foot progression angle and in kinetic parameters of peak ankle power. No statistical difference was found in other kinematic and kinetic parameters. Conclusions. It is demonstrated that the procedure of PAT is safe and efficient for correcting the equinus deformity in case of clubfoot management and preserving the main function of Achilles tendon at the minimum of four-year follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: Retrospective study.Objective: The aims of this study were to evaluate the radiographic and clinical outcomes of Bryan cervical disc arthroplasty at 10-year follow-up.Summary Of Background Data: Cervical arthroplasty is a new technique for treating degenerative cervical disease. Previous reports have shown that cervical arthroplasty with Bryan disc gained good clinical outcomes at 4- to 6-year follow-up.Methods: Clinical outcomes and dynamic x-ray examination were evaluated at baseline and at final follow-up.Results: Thirty-three patients with complete clinical and radiographic data were included in this study. The mean follow-up period was 120.5 months (116-130 months). Twenty-five patients underwent single-level arthroplasty and 7 underwent arthroplasty at 2 levels. One patient underwent arthroplasty at 3 levels. Eight of the 33 patients presented with radiculopathy and 25 patients with myelopathy. The 42 levels of surgery included C3/4 (3 levels), C4/5 (7 levels), C5/6 (26 levels) and C6/7 (6 level). The mJOA score of the 25 patients with myelopathy was 11.8 at the baseline and 15.9 at the final follow-up. No patient suffered from adjacent segment disease. Two patients received revision surgeries at the index level for recurrent radiculopathy caused by osteophyte formation and heterotopic ossification. On x-ray examination, the range of motion at the operated level was 7.8 degree at the baseline and 4.7 degree at the final follow-up. Heterotopic ossification was observed in 29 (69.0%) levels and heterotopic ossification of Grade 4 was observed in 14 levels. Adjacent segment degeneration was observed in 30 (47.6%) levels.Conclusion: Cervical arthroplasty using Bryan cervical disc prosthesis resulted in fine clinical outcomes in this study. Heterotopic ossification was common after Bryan disc arthroplasty, which decreased the range of motion.Level Of Evidence: 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To clarify the effectiveness of Chinese herbal fomentation in treating chronic neck pain by means of changes in cervical kinematics. Methods: Seventy-six patients with chronic neck pain were included in the study and were randomized into two groups based on the random number generator of the SPSS software: fomentation combined with Chinese herbal (Group 1) and fomentation without any medicine (Group 2). In both groups, the fomentation lasted for 60 min and heated to 35 °C, once a day for 28 consecutive days. Standard lateral radiographs of the cervical spine were obtained including the neutral, full flexion, and full extension positions. Before and after intervention, the following parameters were used to evaluate the changes in kinematics: range of motion (ROM), sagittal alignment and instantaneous center of rotation (ICR). Results: After treatment, the ROM was signifcantly higher than that of before treatment in Group 1 (51.5, 95% CI: 49.8-55.9; P<0.05). There was no significant difference between before and after treatment in Group 2 ( P>0.05). Although C2-C7 cervical alignment was increased in both groups after treatment, no significant difference was detected between before and after treatment ( P>0.05). For Group 1, the significant X coordinate variation was only observed at C5/C6 level (38.1; 95% CI: 34.0, 42.1; P<0.05). There was a significant upward trend in the Y coordinate of the ICR at C5/C6 (−30.5; 95% CI: −34.3, −26.8; P<0.05) and C6/C7 after treatment (−6.1; 95% CI: −6.7, −5.4; P<0.05). For Group 2, the ICR location of each level was not statistically different between the pre- and post-treatment ( P>0.05). Conclusions: Chinese herbal fomentation could improve abnormal mobility in terms of ROM and ICR. Chinese herbal fomentation might be an effective treatment for chronic neck pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate in vivo threedimensional tibiofemoral kinematics and femoral condylar motion in knees with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency during a knee bend activity. Ten patients with unilateral ACL rupture were enrolled. Both the injured and contralateral normal knees were imaged using biplane radiography at extension and at 15°, 30°, 60°, 90°, and 120° of flexion. Bilateral knees were next scanned by computed tomography, from which bilateral three-dimensional knee models were created. The in vivo tibiofemoral motion at each flexion position was reproduced through image registration using the knee models and biplane radiographs. A joint coordinate system containing the geometric center axis of the femur was used to measure the tibiofemoral motion. In ACL deficiency, the lateral femoral condyle was located significantly more posteriorly at extension and at 15° (p < 0.05), whereas the medial condylar position was changed only slightly. This constituted greater posterior translation and external rotation of the femur relative to the tibia at extension and at 15° (p < 0.05). Furthermore, ACL deficiency led to a significantly reduced extent of posterior movement of the lateral condyle during flexion from 15° to 60° (p < 0.05). Coupled with an insignificant change in the motion of the medial condyle, the femur moved less posteriorly with reduced extent of external rotation during flexion from 15° to 60° in ACL deficiency (p < 0.05). The medial-lateral and proximaldistal translations of the medial and lateral condyles and the femoral adduction-abduction rotation were insignificantly changed after ACL deficiency. The results demonstrated that ACL deficiency primarily changed the anterior-posterior motion of the lateral condyle, producing not only posterior subluxation at low flexion positions but also reduced extent of posterior movement during flexion from 15° to 60°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study comparing 5 injury cases from various tennis competitions to better understand the mechanisms of ankle ligamentous sprain injury. It describes the methods of the study including performing an online video search of real injury cases, gathering model-based image-matching (MBIM) motion analysis, and converting the required video sequences to 3-dimensional animation. It was revealed that sudden inversion and internal rotation of the ankle joint could cause the injury.

Background: The restoration of knee rotational stability after anatomic double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction has been demonstrated in the cadaveric model and with passive stress tests on humans but not yet with dynamic functional biomechanical tests performed by human participants.Purpose: To prospectively investigate the range of tibial rotation of ACL-deficient and ACL-reconstructed knees during a pivoting task. The authors hypothesized that there would be a significant increase in tibial internal rotation in the ACL-deficient knee compared with the contralateral knee and that the increased rotation would return to normal after anatomic double-bundle ACL reconstruction.Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.Methods: Ten men with unilateral ACL injury performed a high-demand jump-landing and pivoting task before and after ACL reconstruction with mean follow-up of 11 months. The range of tibial rotation of the injured, reconstructed, and intact knees during the pivoting movement was measured by an optical motion analysis system. Paired t tests were performed to investigate any significant difference between the 2 limbs preoperatively and postoperatively and within the injured limb before and after the surgical treatment. Statistical significance was set at P < .05.Results: The range of tibial rotation was higher in the ACL-deficient knee (12.6° ± 4.5°) than in the intact knee (7.9° ± 3.1°) preoperatively (P < .05). The increased rotation was reduced in the reconstructed knee (8.9° ± 3.0°) after ACL reconstruction versus the intact knee postoperatively (8.2° ± 2.6°) (P < .05). There was no significant difference in the tibial rotation between the intact knee and the reconstructed knee postoperatively (P > .05).Conclusion: As assessed with a dynamic functional pivoting movement, the anatomic double-bundle ACL reconstruction successfully restores knee rotational stability from an impaired level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]