RELATION BETWEEN MAXIMUM PLANTAR PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION AND CLUBHEAD SPEED IN AMATEUR GOLFERS

Disagreements exist regarding the manner in which weight should be dynamically shared both within- and between-feet to generate maximal golf clubhead speed. The purpose of this study was test the null hypothesis that maximum plantar pressure (PP) distributions do not correlate with clubhead speed. Thirty-two amateur golfers (handicaps: 2.7-25) performed 10 swings with a driver. Clubhead speed was measured using a ball-flight monitor and PP distributions were recorded using an insole system. Results showed a significant positive correlation between lateral forefoot PP and clubhead speed (p=0.024) in the target-foot (the foot closest to the target), and this effect was independent of body mass (p=0.039). In contrast, medial PP tended to be negatively correlated with clubhead speed. This suggests that target-foot loading location may be as important as loading itself for maximizing clubhead speed

Functional evolution of the feeding system in rodents

The masticatory musculature of rodents has evolved to enable both gnawing at the incisors and chewing at the molars. In particular, the masseter muscle is highly specialised, having extended anteriorly to originate from the rostrum. All living rodents have achieved this masseteric expansion in one of three ways, known as the sciuromorph, hystricomorph and myomorph conditions. Here, we used finite element analysis (FEA) to investigate the biomechanical implications of these three morphologies, in a squirrel, guinea pig and rat. In particular, we wished to determine whether each of the three morphologies is better adapted for either gnawing or chewing. Results show that squirrels are more efficient at muscle-bite force transmission during incisor gnawing than guinea pigs, and that guinea pigs are more efficient at molar chewing than squirrels. This matches the known diet of nuts and seeds that squirrels gnaw, and of grasses that guinea pigs grind down with their molars. Surprisingly, results also indicate that rats are more efficient as well as more versatile feeders than both the squirrel and guinea pig. There seems to be no compromise in biting efficiency to accommodate the wider range of foodstuffs and the more general feeding behaviour adopted by rats. Our results show that the morphology of the skull and masticatory muscles have allowed squirrels to specialise as gnawers and guinea pigs as chewers, but that rats are high-performance generalists, which helps explain their overwhelming success as a group

Two-way ANOVA for scalar trajectories, with experimental evidence of non-phasic interactions

Kinematic and force trajectories are often normalized in time, with mean and variance summary statistic trajectories reported. It has been shown elsewhere, for simple one-factor experiments, that statistical testing can be conducted directly on those summary statistic trajectories using Random Field Theory (RFT). This technical note describes how RFT extends to two-factor designs, and how bizarre “nonphasic interactions” can occur in multi-factor experiments. We reanalyzed a public dataset detailing stance phase knee flexion during walking in (a) patellofemoral pain vs. controls, and (b) females vs. males using both a full model (with interaction e↵ect) and a main-e↵ects-only model. In both models the main e↵ect of PAIN failed to reach significance at ↵=0.05. The main e↵ect of GENDER reached significance over 5–40% stance (p=0.0005), but only for the full model. The interaction e↵ect (in the full model) reached significance over 0–15% of stance (p=0.030), and resulted from greater flexion in females but decreased flexion in males in PFP vs. controls. Thus there was a non-phasic interaction, in which a non-significant interaction (over 20–40% stance) suppressed the main e↵ect of GENDER. Similarly, if we had only analyzed 20–40% stance, we would have committed Type II error by failing to reject the null PAIN-GENDER interaction hypothesis. The possible presence of non-phasic interactions implies that trajectory analyses must be conducted at the whole-trajectory level, because a failure to do so will generally miss non-phasic interactions if present

Zero- vs. one-dimensional, parametric vs. non-parametric, and confidence interval vs. hypothesis testing procedures in one-dimensional biomechanical trajectory analysis.

Biomechanical processes are often manifested as one-dimensional (1D) trajectories. It has been shown that 1D confidence intervals (CIs) are biased when based on 0D statistical procedures, and the non-parametric 1D bootstrap CI has emerged in the Biomechanics literature as a viable solution. The primary purpose of this paper was to clarify that, for 1D biomechanics datasets, the distinction between 0D and 1D methods is much more important than the distinction between parametric and non-parametric procedures. A secondary purpose was to demonstrate that a parametric equivalent to the 1D bootstrap exists in the form of a random field theory (RFT) correction for multiple comparisons. To emphasize these points we analyzed six datasets consisting of force and kinematic trajectories in one-sample, paired, two-sample and regression designs. Results showed, first, that the 1D bootstrap and other 1D non-parametric CIs were qualitatively identical to RFT CIs, and all were very different from 0D CIs. Second, 1D parametric and 1D non-parametric hypothesis testing results were qualitatively identical for all six datasets. Last, we highlight the limitations of 1D CIs by demonstrating that they are complex, design-dependent, and thus non-generalizable. These results suggest that (i) analyses of 1D data based on 0D models of randomness are generally biased unless one explicitly identifies 0D variables before the experiment, and (ii) parametric and non-parametric 1D hypothesis testing provide an unambiguous framework for analysis when one׳s hypothesis explicitly or implicitly pertains to whole 1D trajectories.JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS. 48(7):1277-1285 (2015)journal articl

Two-way ANOVA for scalar trajectories, with experimental evidence of non-phasic interactions

Kinematic and force trajectories are often normalized in time, with mean and variance summary statistic trajectories reported. It has been shown elsewhere, for simple one-factor experiments, that statistical testing can be conducted directly on those summary statistic trajectories using Random Field Theory (RFT). This technical note describes how RFT extends to two-factor designs, and how bizarre "non-phasic interactions" can occur in multi-factor experiments. We reanalyzed a public dataset detailing stance phase knee flexion during walking in (a) patellofemoral pain vs. controls, and (b) females vs. males using both a full model (with interaction effect) and a main-effects-only model. In both models the main effect of PAIN failed to reach significance at alpha=0.05. The main effect of GENDER reached significance over 5-40% stance (p=0.0005), but only for the full model. The interaction effect (in the full model) reached significance over 0-15% of stance (p=0.030), and resulted from greater flexion in females but decreased flexion in males in PFP vs. controls. Thus there was a non-phasic interaction in which a non-significant interaction (over 20-40% stance) suppressed the main effect of GENDER. Similarly, if we had only analyzed 20-40% stance, we would have committed Type II error by failing to reject the null PAIN-GENDER interaction hypothesis. The possible presence of non-phasic interactions implies that trajectory analyses must be conducted at the whole-trajectory level, because a failure to do so will generally miss non-phasic interactions if present. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.ArticleJOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS. 48(1):186-189 (2015)journal articl

Vector field statistical analysis of kinematic and force trajectories

When investigating the dynamics of three-dimensional multi-body biomechanical systems it is often difficult to derive spatiotemporally directed predictions regarding experimentally induced effects. A paradigm of 'non-directed' hypothesis testing has emerged in the literature as a result. Non-directed analyses typically consist of ad hoc scalar extraction, an approach which substantially simplifies the original, highly multivariate datasets (many time points, many vector components). This paper describes a commensurately multivariate method as an alternative to scalar extraction. The method, called 'statistical parametric mapping' (SPM), uses random field theory to objectively identify field regions which co-vary significantly with the experimental design. We compared SPM to scalar extraction by re-analyzing three publicly available datasets: 3D knee kinematics, a ten-muscle force system, and 3D ground reaction forces. Scalar extraction was found to bias the analyses of all three datasets by failing to consider sufficient portions of the dataset, and/or by failing to consider covariance amongst vector components. SPM overcame both problems by conducting hypothesis testing at the (massively multivariate) vector trajectory level, with random field corrections simultaneously accounting for temporal correlation and vector covariance. While SPM has been widely demonstrated to be effective for analyzing 3D scalar fields, the current results are the first to demonstrate its effectiveness for 1D vector field analysis. It was concluded that SPM offers a generalized, statistically comprehensive solution to scalar extraction's oversimplification of vector trajectories, thereby making it useful for objectively guiding analyses of complex biomechanical systems.ArticleJOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS. 46(14):2394-2401 (2013)journal articl

International scientific consensus on medical plantar pressure measurement devices: technical requirements and performance

Background. Since 2006, the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) has been conducting independent scientific activities to standardize the technical assessment of plantar pressure measurement devices (PMDs). Material and methods. On the basis of the ISS results, in 2010 the Pedobarographic Group of the International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics community (i-FAB-PG) promoted a consensus activity about the main technical requirements for the appropriate use of PMDs. The activity relied on a moodle- based on-line forum, documents exchange, discussions, reviews, meetings and a final sur - vey. Results. The participation of clinical and technical researchers, users, and manufactur - ers, contributed to the delivery of the hereby reported recommendations which specifically regard Medical PMDs in the form of platforms. Conclusions. The i-FAB-PG community reached overall agreement on the recommendations, with a few minor objections which are reported and commented in the document. Relevance. The present document, the highest result achievable within a small scientific community, will hopefully represent the starting point of the wider process of establishing official international guidelines or standards, within scientific communities and standardization organizations

Foot pressure distributions during walking in African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Elephants, the largest living land mammals, have evolved a specialized foot morphology to help reduce locomotor pressures while supporting their large body mass. Peak pressures that could cause tissue damage are mitigated passively by the anatomy of elephants' feet, yet this mechanism does not seem to work well for some captive animals. This study tests how foot pressures vary among African and Asian elephants from habitats where natural substrates predominate but where foot care protocols differ. Variations in pressure patterns might be related to differences in husbandry, including but not limited to trimming and the substrates that elephants typically stand and move on. Both species' samples exhibited the highest concentration of peak pressures on the lateral digits of their feet (which tend to develop more disease in elephants) and lower pressures around the heel. The trajectories of the foot's centre of pressure were also similar, confirming that when walking at similar speeds, both species load their feet laterally at impact and then shift their weight medially throughout the step until toe-off. Overall, we found evidence of variations in foot pressure patterns that might be attributable to husbandry and other causes, deserving further examination using broader, more comparable samples