Towards subject-specific strength training design through predictive use of musculoskeletal models

Lower extremity dysfunction is often associated with hip muscle strength deficiencies. Detailed knowledge of the muscle forces generated in the hip under specific external loading conditions enables specific structures to be trained. The aim of this study was to find the most effective movement type and loading direction to enable the training of specific parts of the hip muscles using a standing posture and a pulley system. In a novel approach to release the predictive power of musculoskeletal modelling techniques based on inverse dynamics, flexion/extension and ab-/adduction movements were virtually created. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, three hip orientations and an external loading force that was systematically rotated around the body were simulated using a state-of-the art OpenSim model in order to establish ideal designs for training of the anterior and posterior parts of the; M. gluteus medius (GM). The external force direction as well as the hip orientation greatly influenced the muscle forces in the different parts of the GM. No setting was found for simultaneous training of the anterior and posterior parts with a muscle force higher than 50% of the maximum. Importantly, this study has demonstrated the use of musculoskeletal models as an approach to predict muscle force variations for different strength and rehabilitation exercise variations

DESIGN OF STRENGTH EXERCISES FOR THE ABDUCTOR MUSCLES USING MUSCULOSKELETAL MODELING

Strength training exercises, require a specific joint range of motion and muscle-specific loading to avoid injury and allow adaptation of tissue. The purpose of this study was to design suitable strength training exercises for the hip abductor muscles based on predicted joint loading and motion. Using Opensim modeling, hip abduction/adduction movement was combined with internal/external rotation of the hip and an external force that was applied to the foot. The direction of the force was systematically rotated to mimic a change of the position towards the cable pulley system. M. gluteus mediuswas divided into an anterior and a posterior part. It was not possible to find a single exercise that allowed the training of the anterior and the posterior part simultaneously with a muscle activation \u3e50%. Herein, it has been shown that modeling can be used to design strength-training exercises

Conditioning exercises in ski jumping: biomechanical relationship of squat jumps, imitation jumps, and hill jumps

As hill jumps are very time-consuming, ski jumping athletes often perform various imitation jumps during training. The performed jumps should be similar to hill jumps, but a direct comparison of the kinetic and kinematic parameters has not been performed yet. Therefore, this study aimed to correlate 11 common parameters during hill jumps (Oberstdorf Germany), squat jumps (wearing indoor shoes), and various imitation jumps (rolling 4°, rolling flat, static; jumping equipment or indoor shoes) on a custom-built instrumented vehicle with a catch by the coach. During the performed jumps, force and video data of the take-off of 10 athletes were measured. The imitation and squat jumps were then ranked. The main difference between the hill jumps and the imitation and squat jumps is the higher maximal force loading rate during the hill jumps. Imitation jumps performed on a rolling platform, on flat ground were the most similar to hill jumps in terms of the force–time, and leg joint kinematic properties. Thus, non-hill jumps with a technical focus should be performed from a rolling platform with a flat inrun with normal indoor shoes or jumping equipment, and high normal force loading rates should be the main focus of imitation training

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Inpatient Antibiotic Consumption in Switzerland.

The aim of this study was to analyze inpatient antibiotic consumption during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The entire period (January 2018-June 2021) was divided into the prepandemic period, the first and second waves, and the intermediate period. In the first year of the pandemic, total overall inpatient antibiotic consumption measured in defined daily doses (DDD) per 100 bed-days remained stable (+1.7%), with a slight increase in ICUs of +4.2%. The increase in consumption of broad-spectrum antibiotics was +12.3% overall and 17.3% in ICUs. The segmented regression model of monthly data revealed an increase in overall antibiotic consumption during the first wave but not during the second wave. In the correlation analysis performed in a subset of the data, a significant positive association was found between broad-spectrum antibiotic consumption and an increasing number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients (p = 0.018). Restricting this dataset to ICUs, we found significant positive correlations between the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and total antibiotic consumption (p = 0.007) and broad-spectrum antibiotic consumption (p < 0.001). In conclusion, inpatient antibiotic use during the different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic varied greatly and was predominantly notable for broad-spectrum antibiotics

Multifarious Transnational Engagements of Contemporary Diaspora Members: From Revolving-door Universalists to Multi-nationals and Site-Hopping Vagabonds

Drawing on recent studies of diaspora and its members’ transnational engagements, which treat the former as fuzzy-boundary, context-dependent groupings, and the latter as multi-faceted (rather than two-pronged) relationships, in this paper I explore the notion of diasporans’ polymorphous and multi-directional transnational commitments; identify different types of such involvements; and propose a preliminary list of macro- and micro-level circumstances contributing to multifarious transnationalism. In conclusion, I consider the implications of the notion of diaspora members’ multifarious transnational engagements for the study of (im)migrant transnationalism in general and suggest some interesting questions for future research on this phenomenon generated by this discussion

The SportSense User Interface for Holistic Tactical Performance Analysis in Football

In today's team sports, the effective and user-friendly support of analysts and coaches in analyzing their team's tactics is essential. In this paper, we present an extended version of SportSense, a tool for searching in sports video by means of sketches, for creating and visualizing statistics of individual players and the entire team, and for visualizing the players' off-ball movement. SportSense has been developed in close collaboration with football coaches

Pulling Exercises for Strength Training and Rehabilitation: Movements and Loading Conditions

The back is an extremely common site of injury among both athletes and sedentary people. Furthermore, low back pain has become prevalent in our society. Maintaining strong back muscles can help prevent future pain or injuries. Here, the aim is therefore to assess the kinetic and kinematic movements of four pulling exercises with different external loading directions. Fifteen healthy subjects were analyzed using a 3D motion capture system. The pulley machine was equipped with a load cell for force data acquisition. The exercises consisted of 8 repetitions each of the lat pulldown (25% and 50% body weight (BW) extra load), the lat pulldown with 45° incline (10% and 25% BW), the seated cable row (25% and 50% BW) and the upright row (standing, 10% and 25% BW). The minimum and maximum curvature angle in the thoracic as well as the lumbar spine was larger during the upright row than during the other exercises. Furthermore, during the upright row, the sagittal moment in the shoulder joint is opposed to the other exercises in the direction of retroversion. Due to the higher lumbar curvature observed in low back patients, to avoid overload, it is not advisable for patients with back pain to perform upright rows

Towards Subject-Specific Strength Training Design through Predictive Use of Musculoskeletal Models

ISSN:1754-2103ISSN:1176-232