Concurrent validity and test-retest reliability of the Polhemus Liberty for the measurement of spinal range

This paper discusses concurrent validity and test-retest reliability of the Polhemus Liberty for the measurement of spinal range.It was presented at the International Society of Biomechanics, XXII World Congress, in 2009

Trunk muscle activity during dynamic exercises on land and in water for participants with and without chronic low back pain

Aquatic exercise is beneficial in managing Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP), however information is lacking as to which exercises are appropriate for targeting specific muscle groups. Whilst there is greater understanding of trunk and hip muscle activation patterns on land, few studies have quantified activation patterns during aquaticrehabilitation exercises, and no studies have measured trunk muscle activity in adults with CLBP in an aquatic environment.The purpose of this study is to evaluate muscle activity in people with CLBP and controls in water and on land when they perform exercises involving dynamic upper and lower limb movements with a stable trunk and pelvis

The development of a device to objectively measure knee joint stiffness

This paper discusses the development of a device to objectively measure knee joint stiffness. It was presented at the International Society of Biomechanics, XXII World congress, in 2009

Kinematic development of infants and their interaction with their mothers during specific tasks

Everyday social projects exhibit regular action patterns structured by their motor goals. Shared understanding is developed in infancy in participation in common motor projects by learning anticipations of their motor intention, such as during feeding, being picked up or put down, and in play. Co-operative, participatory games and rituals enacted every day by mothers and babies likely establish distinct, culturally specific motor styles. Generation of non-verbal embodied understanding is dependent on intent participation, and requires co-ordination and contingent timing of actions from both mother and baby. In this study, we examine the action patterns of mothers and their babies from Japan and Scotland during every day games and rituals. Goal-directed movements within these are analysed for their prospective control of action using General Tau Theory, a mathematicopyschophysical theory of prospective perceptual control of movement shown to be universally basic in animal motor control [3] and [4]

A purpose-built dynamometer to objectively measure static and dynamic knee torque

This paper reports the development of a purpose-built knee dynamometer (PBKD) to evaluate passive range of motion (ROM) and isometric muscle strength measurements of the knee. The PBKD uses a TorqSense rotary torque transducer and objectively measures isometric knee muscle strength in a valid and reliable manner and passive resistance to motion through range. The device and all associated instrumentation underwent dynamic and static calibration to ensure consistent and accurate measurements were obtained in terms of knee joint angular position, passive torque measures, and isometric torque measures. Eleven healthy male participants performed a knee flexion and extension task designed to evaluate knee function. The validation of the PBKD entailed measuring the consistency of measurement and accuracy of measurement. Accuracy of the PBKD was determined by comparing peak isometric muscle strength measurements against a KIN-COM machine. No significant differences were observed both passively and isometrically between cycles and between trials. This device can have widespread applications within the rehabilitation and clinical environment and could be used as a functional outcome measuring tool to distinguish pathological from non-pathological knees. The presented preliminary results indicate that reliable and accurate measurements of knee ROM and muscle strength can be obtained