COMPARISON BETWEEN OUTCOMES OF A SPRINT TEST ON A WHEELCHAIR ERGOMETER AND ON-COURT AMONG WHEELCHAIR TENNIS PLAYERS

The current study compared a wheelchair sprint in the laboratory (lab) on a wheelchair ergometer with a wheelchair sprint on-court in a group of experienced wheelchair tennis players. Nine wheelchair tennis players performed a 10m sprint in the lab, on a computerized wheelchair ergometer, and a 10m sprint on-court, equipped with inertial measurement units. Test duration, mean power output and mean velocity showed no differences between lab and field sprints, peak velocity was consistently higher in the field sprint. Despite methodological differences and experienced rolling resistance between the lab and field sprint, test duration, achieved power output and mean velocity did not differ. Field sprint testing is easier to conduct and provides valuable insights, and lab testing gives a broad additional array of in-depth biomechanical analyses

THE COORDINATION OF UPPER AND LOWER LIMB MOVEMENTS IN SHOOTING BASKETBALL FROM VARIOUS DISTANCE: A PILOT STUDY

Using continuous relative phase (CRP) to quantify upper-lower limb coordination in shooting basketball. Six male participants performed free-throws and 3-point shots in a random order to yield 10 swish shots and 10 missed shots at each distance for analysis. The SPM analysis on CRPs revealed that a similar strategy was used to coordinate upper and lower limbs for shooting (p\u3e0.05), with no distinguished coordination pattern for swish shots (p\u3e0.05). The analysis on between-trial variability of coordination revealed that swish shots required more adjustment of proximal coordination, and 3-point shots entailed more adjustment of distal coordination. These findings shed light on a better understanding of limb coordination required before ball release in shooting basketball

POSSIBILITY OF EARLY DETECTION OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE USING CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK DURING SIX-MINUTE WALK TEST

This study aimed to determine the accuracy of distinguishing patients with early Parkinson’s disease (PD) (n=27) from healthy controls (n=50) using a convolutional neural network (CNN) technique with an artificial intelligence deep learning algorithm based on a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) using wearable sensors. After wearing the six sensors, the participants performed the 6MWT, and the time-series data were converted into new images. The main results demonstrated the highest discrimination accuracy of 72% on the left arm gyroscope data. The results confirmed the possibility of using CNN models to distinguish between individuals with early PD and controls. Moreover, the 6MWT using sensors may contribute to early diagnosis as an objective indicator in clinical settings

Frequent Use of Contingency Management and Opioid Treatment Programs that Provide Treatment for More than Only Opioid Use Disorder

Contingency management is an effective behavioral intervention for treating substance use disorders that provides patients with incentives for objective verification of completed targeted recovery behaviors including abstinence from substances, attending treatment, and medication adherence. Accredited/licensed opioid treatment programs provide effective, medications for opioid use disorder. This study evaluated the prevalence of frequent contingency management use among a national sample of opioid treatment programs in the U.S. (N= 672). A binary logistic regression model examined factors associated with providing contingency management, including state-level fatal overdoses, number of pharmacotherapies, outpatient treatment, facility ownership, and residential treatment. Most evaluated facilities provided contingency management (n=440; 65.5%). Facilities that prescribed more pharmacotherapies, were located in states with high drug overdose death rates, and for-profit (compared to nonprofit) providers were more likely to offer contingency management. Because contingency management effectively treats substance use disorders, contingency management should be offered more broadly across opioid treatment program

EFFECTS OF HABITUAL FOOT STRIKE PATTERNS ON ANKLE MUSCLES ACTIVATION DURING RUNNING

This study aimed to determine differences in muscle activation between habitual rearfoot strike pattern (RFS) and non-rearfoot strike pattern (NRFS) runners. Ten habitual RFS and ten habitual NRFS runners were recruited in this study. The electromyography signals were collected from the tibialis anterior, soleus, medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles at 9 km/h running. The root mean square of each muscle and the co-activation of ankle flexors and extensors (COAnkle) were calculated. Independent t-tests or nonparametric tests were used to examine the differences between two groups. The results showed that during the pre-activation and swing phases, the COAnkle of RFS runners were greater than those of NRFS runners. This suggested that RFS runners with higher COAnkle at pre-activation might be a strategy in response to great impact force during the early of stance

PELVIC LIST STRENGTH AS AN INDICATOR OF SPRINT PERFORMANCE

This study aimed to develop a new test for evaluating pelvic list strength and to clarify whether the test would be an indicator of sprint performance. The new pelvic list strength test evaluated the vertical ground reaction force produced by maximal pelvic list using a force plate which was set underneath the supporting foot. For the experiment, 14 male sprinters performed 60-m sprint and the pelvic list strength test. The pelvic list strength test values were 6.05 ± 1.36 [N/kg] and 6.07 ± 1.02 [N/kg] for the right and left sides, respectively. Significant correlations were found between the right pelvic list strength and 60-m and 30 to 60-m sprint times (no significant correlation being found for the left side). The results demonstrate that the developed new test could be an indicator of the sprint performance especially during the later acceleration section

IN-FIELD BIOMECHANICS OF HALFPIPE SNOWBOARDING: A PILOT STUDY

The aim of this pilot study is to develop a method to measure the sport-specific biomechanics of the Olympic discipline of halfpipe snowboarding. An integrated fusion approach using a global navigation satellite system, inertial measurement units, and an insole system to analyse the athlete\u27s position, movements, and forces transmitted to the board was proposed. To test the feasibility of this method a former European Cup athlete (n=1) performed 32 jumps (16 front- and backside airs) in four runs. The method provided uninterrupted measurement over extended periods of time with minimal distortion to the athlete and plausible results (COM velocity: 5.0±0.5 m/s - 13.0±0.4 m/s, back leg knee flexion: 29±2° - 64±4°, peak rear foot load: 1269±123 N). In summary, the method was feasible to capture sport-specific biomechanics of halfpipe snowboardin

USING SUBJECT-SPECIFIC STRENGTH COEFFICIENTS TO SCALE MAXIMUM ISOMETRIC FORCES FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL SIMULATION

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel scaling method for use in musculoskeletal simulations. Four college athletes performed typical dynamic movement and isometric strength tasks, while we captured motion capture, ground reaction force, and muscle activation data. Data from the strength task were used to determine subject-specific estimates of maximum isometric muscle force. Our method showed that subject-specific multipliers ranged from 2.32 to 3.37, and decreased normalized root mean squared error between simulated and EMG-measured muscle activation by 52-90% compared to standard scaling. Although the scaling method worked for only 4/10 athletes, it may provide more realistic simulation results (e.g., muscle activations) than current methods and improve the use of musculoskeletal simulations in the field of sports biomechanics

MARKERLESS BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF FORMER ELITE RHYTHMIC GYMNASTS

This study addresses the critical gap in understanding the biomechanics of key rhythmic gymnastics elements with high loads on the feet and ankles, specifically Fouetté balance and turns. These elements require repeated plantar and dorsiflexion movements. The study analyzed the forces and ankle sagittal angles of four former elite gymnasts using markerless motion capture and force plates. We segmented each movement into distinct biomechanical phases, particularly in \u27Relevé\u27 and Plié positions. Higher forces were observed during the Fouetté turn, and higher plantarflexion angles were found during the Fouetté balance. To the authors best knowledge this is the first study to segment and quantify common movements in rhythmic gymnastics, offering potential benefits for enhancing rhythmic gymnastics specific training and rehabilitation programs

ESTIMATION OF JOINT AND TENDON LOADING DURING RUNNING USING ARTIFICIAL IMU DATA AND UNSUPERVISED NEURAL NETWORKS

This study aimed to estimate lower-limb joint- and tendon loads during treadmill running by combining artificial IMU (artIMU) data of four virtually placed sensors on the shanks and feet with a self-organising neural network approach. To achieve this, we simulated IMU (artIMU) data from marker trajectories of 28 runners, running at 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 m/s on a treadmill. A Kohonen self-organising map was trained with the artIMU data, and the joint and tendon loading was reconstructed as the hidden variables of the network. A leave-one-subject-out cross-validation resulted in a good to excellent estimation accuracy (R2 \u3e 0.87 and nRMS