Plantar intrinsic foot muscle activation during functional exercises compared to isolated foot exercises in younger adults

BackgroundTraining the plantar intrinsic foot muscles (PIFMs) has the potential to benefit patients with lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions as well as the aged population. Isolated foot exercises, often standard in clinical practice, are difficult to perform, whereas functional exercises are much easier to accomplish. However, it is unclear whether functional exercises are comparable to isolated foot exercises in activating the PIFMs.ObjectiveThis study aims to compare the activation of PIFMs between functional exercises versus isolated foot exercises.MethodsUsing surface electromyography (EMG), muscle activation of three PIFMs was measured in four functional exercises (i.e. normal/unstable toe stance, toe walking, and hopping) versus a muscle-specific isolated foot exercise in 29 younger adults, resulting in 12 comparisons.ResultsFunctional exercises showed larger mean EMG amplitudes than the isolated foot exercises in 25% of the 12 comparisons, while there was no difference in the remaining 75%.ConclusionFunctional exercises provoked comparable or even more activation of the PIFMs than isolated foot exercises. Given that functional exercises are easier to perform, this finding indicates the need to further investigate the effectiveness of functional exercises in physical therapy to improve muscle function and functional task performance in populations that suffer from PIFM weakness or dysfunction

GAIT AND POSTURE IN ARTHRITIC AND HEALTHY KNEES

INTRODUCTION: The gait characteristics of patients with OA of the knee have been wellstudied and reported; however, less attention has been paid to the postural differences between OA affected and healthy knees. The aim of this study was to investigate the postural differences that may affect the gait in an OA group compared to the controls

GAIT AND POSTURE IN ARTHRITIC AND HEALTHY KNEES

INTRODUCTION: The gait characteristics of patients with OA of the knee have been wellstudied and reported; however, less attention has been paid to the postural differences between OA affected and healthy knees. The aim of this study was to investigate the postural differences that may affect the gait in an OA group compared to the controls

Принципи екологічної деонтології як засобу формування екологічного імперативу поведінки

Матеріал присвячений обґрунтуванню нової наукової дисципліни, яку автор назвав "екологічна деонтологія". Стаття містить погляди автора на принципи екологічної деонтології, окреслює її світоглядно-методологічний потенціал. Екологічна деонтологія розглядається як один із засобів вирішення актуальних глобальних проблем людства.Material is devoted the ground of new scientific discipline which an author named "ecological deontology". The article contains the looks of author to principles of ecological deontology, outlines it view-methodological potential. Ecological deontology is examined as a mean of decision of global issues of the day of humanity

THE EFFECT OF PROGRESSIVE RESISTANCE TRAINING ON BIOMECHANICS OF ARTHRITIC GAIT: A SINGLE-BLIND RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis (OA) is prevalent in elderly and is associated with muscle weakness. OA progression is related to biomechanical characteristics of gait such as knee adduction moment (KAM). Progressive resistance training (PRT) improves muscle strength in this population, but PRT effects on biomechanics of gait related to OA progression are unknown. We hypothesized that PRT would reduce KAM, mediated by improvements in the strength of all lower limb muscle groups

THE EFFECT OF PROGRESSIVE RESISTANCE TRAINING ON BIOMECHANICS OF ARTHRITIC GAIT: A SINGLE-BLIND RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis (OA) is prevalent in elderly and is associated with muscle weakness. OA progression is related to biomechanical characteristics of gait such as knee adduction moment (KAM). Progressive resistance training (PRT) improves muscle strength in this population, but PRT effects on biomechanics of gait related to OA progression are unknown. We hypothesized that PRT would reduce KAM, mediated by improvements in the strength of all lower limb muscle groups

Post-traumatic glenohumeral cartilage lesions: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Any cartilage damage to the glenohumeral joint should be avoided, as these damages may result in osteoarthritis of the shoulder. To understand the pathomechanism leading to shoulder cartilage damage, we conducted a systematic review on the subject of articular cartilage lesions caused by traumas where non impression fracture of the subchondral bone is present. METHODS: PubMed (MEDLINE), ScienceDirect (EMBASE, BIOBASE, BIOSIS Previews) and the COCHRANE database of systematic reviews were systematically scanned using a defined search strategy to identify relevant articles in this field of research. First selection was done based on abstracts according to specific criteria, where the methodological quality in selected full text articles was assessed by two reviewers. Agreement between raters was investigated using percentage agreement and Cohen's Kappa statistic. The traumatic events were divided into two categories: 1) acute trauma which refers to any single impact situation which directly damages the articular cartilage, and 2) chronic trauma which means cartilage lesions due to overuse or disuse of the shoulder joint. RESULTS: The agreement on data quality between the two reviewers was 93% with a Kappa value of 0.79 indicating an agreement considered to be 'substantial'. It was found that acute trauma on the shoulder causes humeral articular cartilage to disrupt from the underlying bone. The pathomechanism is said to be due to compression or shearing, which can be caused by a sudden subluxation or dislocation. However, such impact lesions are rarely reported. In the case of chronic trauma glenohumeral cartilage degeneration is a result of overuse and is associated to other shoulder joint pathologies. In these latter cases it is the rotator cuff which is injured first. This can result in instability and consequent impingement which may progress to glenohumeral cartilage damage. CONCLUSION: The great majority of glenohumeral cartilage lesions without any bony lesions are the results of overuse. Glenohumeral cartilage lesions with an intact subchondral bone and caused by an acute trauma are either rare or overlooked. And at increased risk for such cartilage lesions are active sportsmen with high shoulder demand or athletes prone to shoulder injury

The biomechanical fingerprint of hip and knee osteoarthritis patients during activities of daily living

Background: Osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent disease affecting the hip and knee joint and is characterized by load-mediated pain and decreased quality of life. Dependent on involved joint, patients present antalgic movement compensations, aiming to decrease loading on the involved joint. However, the associated alterations in mechanical loading of the ipsi- and contra-lateral lower limb joints, are less documented. Here, we documented the biomechanical fingerprint of end-stage hip and knee osteoarthritis patients in terms of ipsilateral and contralateral hip and knee loading during walking and stair ambulation. Methods: Three-dimensional motion-analysis was performed in 20 hip, 18 knee osteoarthritis patients and 12 controls during level walking and stair ambulation. Joint contact forces were calculated using a standard musculoskeletal modelling workflow in Opensim. Involved and contralateral hip and knee joint loading was compared against healthy controls using independent t-tests (p &lt; 0.05). Findings: Both hip and knee cohorts significantly decreased loading of the involved joint during gait and stair ambulation. Hip osteoarthritis patients presented no signs of ipsilateral knee nor contralateral leg overloading, during walking and stair ascending. However, knee osteoarthritis patients significantly increased loading at the ipsilateral hip, and contralateral hip and knee joints during stair ambulation compared to controls. Interpretation: The biomechanical fingerprint in knee and hip osteoarthritis patients confirmed antalgic movement strategies to unload the involved leg during gait. Only during stair ambulation in knee osteoarthritis patients, movement adaptations were confirmed that induced unbalanced intra- and inter-limb loading conditions, which are known risk factors for secondary osteoarthritis.</p

The biomechanical fingerprint of hip and knee osteoarthritis patients during activities of daily living

Background: Osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent disease affecting the hip and knee joint and is characterized by load-mediated pain and decreased quality of life. Dependent on involved joint, patients present antalgic movement compensations, aiming to decrease loading on the involved joint. However, the associated alterations in mechanical loading of the ipsi- and contra-lateral lower limb joints, are less documented. Here, we documented the biomechanical fingerprint of end-stage hip and knee osteoarthritis patients in terms of ipsilateral and contralateral hip and knee loading during walking and stair ambulation. Methods: Three-dimensional motion-analysis was performed in 20 hip, 18 knee osteoarthritis patients and 12 controls during level walking and stair ambulation. Joint contact forces were calculated using a standard musculoskeletal modelling workflow in Opensim. Involved and contralateral hip and knee joint loading was compared against healthy controls using independent t-tests (p &lt; 0.05). Findings: Both hip and knee cohorts significantly decreased loading of the involved joint during gait and stair ambulation. Hip osteoarthritis patients presented no signs of ipsilateral knee nor contralateral leg overloading, during walking and stair ascending. However, knee osteoarthritis patients significantly increased loading at the ipsilateral hip, and contralateral hip and knee joints during stair ambulation compared to controls. Interpretation: The biomechanical fingerprint in knee and hip osteoarthritis patients confirmed antalgic movement strategies to unload the involved leg during gait. Only during stair ambulation in knee osteoarthritis patients, movement adaptations were confirmed that induced unbalanced intra- and inter-limb loading conditions, which are known risk factors for secondary osteoarthritis.</p

The associations between body and knee height measurements and knee joint structure in an asymptomatic cohort

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been suggested that knee height is a determinant of knee joint load. Nonetheless, no study has directly examined the relationship between anthropometric measures of height and knee joint structures, such as cartilage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>89 asymptomatic community-based adults aged 25-62 with no diagnosed history of knee arthropathy were recruited. Anthropometric data (knee height and body height) were obtained by standard protocol, while tibial cartilage volume and defects, as well as bone area were determined from magnetic resonance imaging. Static knee alignment was measured from the joint radiograph.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All anthropometric height measures were associated with increasing compartmental tibial bone area (<it>p </it>≤ 0.05). Although knee height was associated with tibial cartilage volume (e.g. β = 27 mm³95% CI 7- 48; <it>p </it>= 0.009 for the medial compartment), these relationship no longer remained significant when knee height as a percentage of body height was analysed. Knee height as a percentage of body height was associated with a reduced risk of medial tibial cartilage defects (odds ratio 0.6; 95% confidence interval 0.4 - 1.0; <it>p </it>= 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The association between increased anthropometric height measures and increased tibial bone area may reflect inherently larger bony structures. However the beneficial associations demonstrated with cartilage morphology suggest that an increased knee height may confer a beneficial biomechanical environment to the chondrocyte of asymptomatic adults.</p