THE INTERFACE BETWEEN CLINICAL AND PERFORMANCE RELATED BIOMECHANICS – AN EMERGING RESEARCHER’S JOURNEY

The presentation will describe the journey my career has taken so far, using three main themes, which have been selected to reflect my experience to date. The examples demonstrate how sports biomechanics can contribute towards developing new knowledge in a multidisciplinary setting with specific reference to the interface between clinical practice and performance related biomechanics. The three main themes will include: Clinical Biomechanics (ACL injury), Adapted Performance (Amputee Sprinting), and Environmental Interaction (Artificial Turf). The initial theme Clinical Biomechanics, emerges from my work at the University of Salzburg, exploring ACL-injury and a conservative treatment (RegentK), where acute effects of ACL-injury on gait and lower limb impacts will be discussed. The second theme will examine the contemporary aspect of Adapted Performance, specifically the use of blades in amputee sprinting during the sprint start; this example draws on a successful collaboration with the German Sports University Cologne, Germany and the Cardiff School of Sport, Cardiff Met, UK. The final theme, Environmental Interaction, investigates the use of artificial turf in soccer and rugby. I will discuss my work as a Research Officer on the FIFA, IRB, and Cardiff School of Sport project. This research employed an interdisciplinary approach to address the question of perception (psychology) and performance (biomechanics) on the introduction of artificial turf. Finally, I will draw some global conclusions regarding my research experience to date and will present perspectives for the future

COMPARISON OF TEMPORO-SPATIAL AND KINETIC PARAMETERS DURING DOWNHILL WALKING ON A TREADMILL AND A RAMP CONSTRUCTION

Inclined treadmills or static ramp constructions can be used to investigate downhill gait in a standardised laboratory condition. However, it is not clear how the different systems affect the gait pattern during downhill walking. Therefore temporo-spatial (Qualisys) and kinetic data (loadsol®) of 13 healthy participants walking with a given speed (1.1 m/s) downhill with a -6° decline on a treadmill and a ramp system were analysed. On the treadmill participants walked with 8% shorter steps and shorter contact times, while they increased step frequency by 6%. Peak resultant forces remained similar compared to walking on a ramp construction. These alterations might be due to mechanical and psychological effects and have to be considered when conducting and analysing research that focuses on downhill gait

INFLUENCE OF BODY WEIGHT ON JOINT LOADING IN STAIR CLIMBING

Exercise is an essential treatment in childhood obesity. Due to the low impact on joint loading exercise recommendations are aerobic exercise such as swimming, cycling and walking (Hassink et al, 2008). Little is known though about the effect of adiposity on the function of the locomotor system (Wearing et al., 2006). Only limited research has been done on obese gait in children (Nantel et al. 2006) and even less is known about other weight bearing tasks such as climbing stairs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influences of obesity on the load pattern of the lower extremity joints of obese children while ascending and descending stairs

EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTARY MATS ON GROUND REACTION FORCES AND NEUROMUSCULAR PRE-ACTIVATION IN GYMNASTICS LANDINGS

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of supplementary mats on ground reaction forces (GRF) and neuromuscular activation of selected leg muscles during gymnastics landings. Participants (n=10) performed landings from 1 m and 2 m height onto a landing mat and landing mat plus a soft supplementary mat. EMG of lower extremity muscles and ground reaction forces were measured. Results showed a decrease between 15% and 40% of the peak GRF and the peak rate of force development (RFD), respectively, when using supplementary mats. While the duration of pre-activation remained unchanged, the amount of pre-activation was reduced when landing on supplementary mats. From a biomechanical point of view supplementary mats can be recommended in gymnastics landings

EFFECT OF WALKING SPEED AND POLE LENGTH ON KINEMATICS AND DYNAMICS IN NORDIC WALKING

Nordic walking has become a wide established leisure sport in middle and northern Europe. Although cardiopulmonary benefits are well documented, reported load reductions on the lower extremities seem to be overestimated. The influence of Nordic walking speed on the gait parameters has not been researched sufficiently. The recommendations of the optimal length for Nordic walking poles vary and merely the effect of different lengths on the biomechanics of the technique has been studied. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of Nordic walking speed and pole length on kinematic and dynamic parameters in 16 Nordic walking skilled subjects. An increase of walking speed causes a more dynamic walking pattern and leads to an increase of the ground reaction forces in the first part of the stance phase and a decrease in the middle part of the stance phase. Only fine and non-systematic changes in kinematics and ground reaction forces were observed when using poles with different pole lengths

EFFECTS OF A MANUAL THERAPY ON TIBIOFEMORAL JOINT FORCES IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RUPTURE

The purpose of this study was to analyse the acute effects of the manual therapy RegentK on tibiofemoral joint forces and lower limb muscle forces in patients with an acute unilateral ACL rupture. Eight patients with an acute ACL rupture were recruited. Tibiofemoral joint forces and quadriceps, hamstring and gastrocnemius muscle forces were analysed during walking pre and immediately post the one time intervention using a musculoskeletal model.Results showed that tibiofemoral joint loading and muscle forces were altered in the injured compared to the uninjured limb, but no significant effect of the intervention could be shown. Joint and muscle force patterns, however, were highly individual. For future analyses the comparison with a matched-control group and the use of different methods to detect waveform-changes are recommended

THE USE OF THE GRADUAL YIELDING MECHANISM DURING DOWNHILL WALKING IN TRANSFEMORAL AMPUTEE GAIT – A CASE STUDY

To facilitate downhill walking in transfemoral amputees, some prostheses contain knee joints that have a yielding mechanism. The aim of this case study was to investigate 1) at which gradient unilateral transfemoral (UTF) amputees first utilised the yielding mechanism, 2) whether this mechanism is linked to altered spatio-temporal parameters and 3) if the switch occurs at a different gradient when the prosthetic ankle component is altered. Two UTF amputees walked at different slopes (0° to -15°) with an articulating and a rigid prosthetic ankle component. Results showed that the gradient at which the UTFs first used the yielding mechanism is highly individual (UTF1: -6°; UTF2: -12°). UTF2 showed with the switch a decreased speed, step & stride length. The use of an articulating compared to a rigid ankle component did not influence the yielding pattern

Kinematic and kinetic analyses of human movement with respect to health, injury prevention and rehabilitation aspects

Die Arbeit gibt Einblicke in des Spektrum der Möglichkeiten der Sportbiomechanik zum einem anhand eines Methodenvergleichs, in dem die Problematik von der Vergleichbarkeit verschiedener Modellierungsmethoden behandelt wird, und zum anderen anhand eines anwendungsorientierten Teils. Realisiert wird dieser Teil durch 3 Studien zu Gelenkbelastung bei Kniebeugevariationen sowie zu Gelenkbelastung von adipösen Kindern und zu Effekte von verschiedenen Orthesen-konstruktionen auf die Kniestabilitä

DNA barcoding and molecular phylogeny of Eois moths (Geometridae) from southern Ecuador

Die Gattung Eois (Larentiinae) ist Teil einer megadiversen Fauna von Geometriden in den Bergregenwäldern des südlichen Ecuador. Angesichts der hohen Diversität an Morphotypen und der engen Beziehung zu Futterpflanzen aus der Gattung Piper wurde die Gattung Eois zur weiterführenden Untersuchung ausgewählt. Hauptfragestellungen waren die Brauchbarkeit von Barcode-Ansätzen zur Artidentifikation sowie ein erster Einblick in phylogenetische Zusammenhänge innerhalb von Eois. COI-Barcode-Sequenzen von 340 Individuen wurden generiert, um eine Datenbank der Artengemeinschaft an der Sammlungslokalität zu erstellen. Dieses Inventar wird von großem Nutzen bei der Identifikation von Raupen sein und damit die Zahl der Futterpflanzennachweise ohne die Notwendigkeit zeitraubender Zuchten erhöhen. Die Analyse der Barcoding-Sequenzen zeigte, dass es im Fall einer rein Morphologie-basierten Artabgrenzung zu einer breiten Überlappung von intra- und interspezifischen genetischen Distanzen kommt. Artabgrenzung auf Sequenzbasis mit einem Schwellenwert von 3% eliminiert 6 von 9 Fällen, die eine Überlappung verursachen. Abgrenzung mit einem 2% Schwellenwert führt zu einem klaren "barcoding gap". Es konnten allein aufgrund der Flügelzeichnungsmerkmale 30 neue Morphosspezies im vorliegenden Material identifiziert werden, deren Artstatus sich ausnahmslos durch Analyse der DNA-Barcode-Sequenzen bestätigte. Die Zahl der Eois-Arten in diesem kleinen, nur wenige Quadratkilometer großen Areal an Bergregenwald steigt daher von 99 auf 129. Diese Zahl erhöht sich weiter (auf 138), wenn 9 potentielle Arten, welche durch genetische Artabgrenzung unter Anwendung eines 2% Schwellenwertes identifiziert wurden, mit eingerechnet werden. Erweiterte COI Sequenzen (1220bp) und Elongation-factor-1-alpha Sequenzen (1066bp) von 102 Taxa wurden generiert. Maximum parsimony und Bayes'sche Methoden der Phylogenierekonstruktion wurden angewandt, um die Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse innerhalb Eois abzuschätzen. Alle Analysen bestätigten die Monophylie der untersuchten neotropischen Vertreter der Gattung Eois. Die Stammbäume zeigen, dass alle betrachteten Flügelmuster-Typen – bis auf eine Ausnahme – nur einmal entstanden sind. Diese Ausnahme betrifft den basalen Clade innerhalb Eois, welcher einem abgeleiteteren Clade ähnelt. Dies könnte den plesiomorphen Zustand repräsentieren oder ein Fall konvergenter Evolution sein. Futterpflanzenbeziehungen zu Piper sind über die gesamte Gattung hinweg zu finden. Jedoch sind die vorliegenden Nachweise auf bestimmte Subclades konzentriert. Die bislang in der Literatur vermutete nahe phylogenetische Verwandtschaft der Gattung Eois mit dem Tribus Eupitheciini (Blütenspanner) konnte anhand der molekularen Daten nicht bestätigt werden.The genus Eois (Larentiinae) comprises an important part of a megadiverse assemblage of geometrid moths in the mountain rainforests of southern Ecuador. Owing to the diversity of morphotypes found in this genus, the abundance of many of its component species, and the close relationships with larval food plants in the genus Piper, the genus Eois was chosen as a target for more detailed investigation on the suitability of DNA barcode applications and phylogenetic relationships. COI barcode sequences (676 bp) were generated from 342 individuals to establish an inventory of DNA barcodes from one study area (Reserva Biológica San Francisco). This inventory can be used to match larvae to known adult samples without rearing, and will therefore be of vital help to extend the currently very limited knowledge about food plant relationships and host specialization. Analyses of barcoding sequence divergence showed that species delimitations based on external morphology alone result in broad overlap of intra- and interspecific distances. Species delimitation at a 3% pairwise genetic distance threshold eliminated all but 3 out of 9 cases causing overlap and delimitation at a 2% threshold resulted in a clear barcoding gap. 30 previously unrecognized species were identified solely on morphological evidence, and their species status was subsequently supported by barcode sequence data. In addition to that 9 putative species could be recognized by threshold based delimitation. Hence, the present study increased the number of Eois species recorded from that small area of Andean mountain forests from 99 to 129 (morphology-based) or even 138 (sequence-based). Notably there are no cases where two or more previously known morphospecies had to be lumped. We acquired elongation factor 1-alpha sequences and extended COI sequences of 102 individuals amounting to a combined sequence dataset of ~2200 bp. These represented at least 70 Eois species plus a range of outgroup taxa. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference of phylogeny were employed to estimate relationships within Eois. Monophyly of Eois was always strongly supported. Phylogenetic trees revealed that all included wing-pattern types except for one evolved only once. The exception to this rule occurred in the most basal clade whose species closely resemble those in a clade higher up in the tree. This may represent an ancestral character state or the result of convergent evolution. Additionally it could be determined that species known to feed on Piper are spread over most of the major clades within Eois, indicating that the host plant relationship with Piper is indeed a widespread trait among the Neotropical members of the genus and not just occurs in certain subclades. The number of species and individuals recorded from Piper is however skewed towards two subclades. Within the subfamily Larentiinae the genus Eois has traditionally been placed close to the tribe Eupitheciini, but there is presently no support for such a placement in our phylogenetic analyses

ASSESSMENT OF KINEMATIC CMJ DATA USING A DEEP LEARNING ALGORITHM-BASED MARKERLESS MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of a 2D video-based markerless motion capture system to a conventional marker-based approach during a counter movement jump (CMJ). Twenty-three healthy participants performed CMJ while data were collected simultaneously via a marker-based (Oqus) and a 2D video-based motion capture system (Miqus, both: Qualisys AB, Gothenburg, Sweden). The 2D video data was further processed using Theia3D (Theia Markerless Inc.), both sets of data were analysed concurrently in Visual3D (C-motion, Inc). Excellent agreement between systems with ICCs \u3e0.988 exists for Jump height (mean average error of 0.35 cm) and ankle and knee sagittal plane angles (RMS differences \u3c 5°). The hip joint showed highe