Context: Individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) have demonstrated altered lower-extremity joint kinematics during walking. The purpose of this study was to examine feedback control of gait kinematics following repeated sudden ankle inversion perturbation during walking in CAI patients relative to matched controls. Methods: Twenty-one CAI patients, 21 matched controls participated. Subjects performed five walking trials at a preferred speed both before and after 10 sudden ankle inversion perturbations during walking while 3D joint kinematic data were collected using high-speed video and in-ground force plate. Main outcome measures were ankle- (sagittal and frontal planes), knee- (sagittal plane), and hip-angles (sagittal and frontal planes) from heel-strike to toe-off. Spatial trajectories of 44 markers were smoothed using a digital filter. Functional analysis was used to detect mean differences. Results: CAI group demonstrated (i) less ankle dorsiflexion, (ii) more ankle eversion, (iii) less knee flexion, (iv) less hip flexion, and (v) more adduction during walking trails, compared to the control group. The 10 sudden ankle inversion perturbations resulted in more ankle dorsiflexion only in the CAI group. However, both the CAI and control groups demonstrated no differences in frontal ankle, sagittal knee and sagittal and frontal hip kinematics between pre- and post-intervention measurements. Conclusions: Sudden ankle inversion perturbations did not affect gait kinematics in both CAI and control groups except sagittal ankle kinematics in the CAI group. Increased ankle dorsiflexion after inversion perturbation in the CAI group may be the result of a change in motor control to avoid self-perceived vulnerable positions of the foot during walking.
Listed In: Biomechanics, Gait

Falls due to slippery conditions are among the primary causes of disabling workplace injuries. Despite the extensive amount of human slip studies in the literature, only a handful of studies have reported ground reaction forces at the instant of slip initiation. The purpose of this study was to quantify the vertical ground reaction forces (VGRF) at slip initiation during unexpected human slips across different footwear-contaminant conditions. Forty-seven healthy subjects were unexpectedly exposed to a liquid–contaminant, while the vertical force was measured at the moment that the foot began to start slipping. The average VGRF were between 100 and 300 N and varied significantly across the footwear. These forces were significantly less than the typical forces (400-700 N) applied during slip-resistance measurements. This finding may suggest that available coefficient of friction (ACOF) measurements should use lower force levels in order to achieve higher relevance to the onset of slipping.
Listed In: Biomechanics, Gait

Purpose: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear greatly increases the risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA), even when patients undergo ACL reconstruction surgery (ACLR). Changes to walking kinematics following ACLR have been suggested to play a role in this degenerative path to post-traumatic OA by shifting the location of repetitive joint contact loads that occur during walking to regions of cartilage not conditioned for altered loads. Recent work has shown that changes to the average knee center of rotation during walking (KCOR) between 2 and 4 years after ACLR are associated with long term changes in patient reported outcomes at 8 years. Changes to KCOR result in changes to contact patterns between the femur and the tibial plateau. However, it is unknown if changes to this kinematic measure are reflected by changes to cartilage as early as 2 years after surgery. Ultrashort TE-enhanced T2* (UTE-T2*) mapping has been shown to be sensitive to subsurface changes occurring in deep articular cartilage early after ACL injury and over 2 years after ACLR that were not detectable by standard morphological MRI. Thus, the purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that side to side differences in KCOR correlate with side to side differences in UTE-T2* quantitative MRI (qMRI) in the central weight bearing regions of the medial and lateral tibial plateaus at 2 years following ACLR. Methods: Thirty-five human participants (18F, Age: 33.8±10.5 yrs, BMI: 24.1±3.3) with a history of unilateral ACL reconstruction (2.19±0.22 yrs post-surgery) and no other history of serious lower limb injury received bilateral examinations on a 3T MRI scanner. UTE-T2* maps were calculated via mono-exponential fitting on a series of T2*-weighted MR images acquired at eight TEs (32μs -16 ms, non-uniform echo spacing) using a radial out 3D cones acquisition. All subjects completed bilateral gait analysis. Medial-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) coordinates of average KCOR during stance of walking were calculated for both knees. Side to side differences in KCOR were tested for correlations with side to side differences in mean full thickness UTE-T2* quantitative values in the central weight bearing regions of the medial and lateral tibial plateau using Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: There was a distribution in UTE-T2* values, with some subjects having higher UTE-T2* and some lower in the ACLR knee relative to the contralateral knee. A significant correlation (R=0.407, p=0.015, Figure 1A) was observed between UTE-T2* and the ML KCOR with a more lateral KCOR corresponding to higher values of UTE-T2* for the medial tibia. Similarly, for the lateral tibia, a lower UTE-T2* was correlated with a more posterior KCOR (R=0.363, p=0.032, Figure 1B). Significant correlations were not observed for UTE-T2* in the lateral tibia with the ML position of KCOR or for UTE-T2* in the medial tibia with the AP position of KCOR. Conclusions: The results of this study support the hypothesis that side to side differences in mean full thickness UTE-T2* qMRI correlate with side to side differences in knee kinematics at 2 years after ACLR. The finding that a more lateral KCOR in the ACLR knee correlates with UTE T2* values in the medial tibia that were higher than the contralateral side suggests that this kinematic change, which has been previously shown to result in more relative motion between the femur and tibia in the medial compartment, could be affecting subsurface matrix integrity, inducing changes detectable by UTE-T2* mapping. Additionally, the finding that a more posterior KCOR in the ACLR knee correlated with UTE-T2* values in the lateral tibia that were lower than the contralateral knee further suggests that the UTE-T2* metric may reflect early changes in cartilage health. When interpreted within the context of prior work showing that a posterior shift in KCOR from 2 to 4 years post-surgery correlated with improved clinical outcomes at 8 years, the observed lower UTE-T2* with a more posterior KCOR, which is reflective of improved quadriceps recruitment, suggests positive cartilage matrix properties. In spite of the limitations of this cross-sectional and exploratory study, and the difficulty accounting for changes in the contralateral knee, these results support future studies of the relationship between UTE-T2* and KCOR to provide new insight into predicting the risk for OA after ACLR.
Listed In: Biomechanical Engineering, Biomechanics, Gait, Mechanical Engineering, Orthopedic Research, Sports Science

A period of incoordination and fatigue is commonly associated with the transition run in triathletes, in which running mechanics are thought to be altered. Few studies have examined the changes in ground reaction forces and vertical loading rate during the transition run. Our purpose was to assess the changes that occur in ground reaction forces during a fatigued transition run in triathletes. 13 recreational male triathletes (34 ± 4.2 years) performed an incremental cycling test and a cycle to run transition on separate testing sessions. A 15-camera Vicon motion capture system collecting at 200 Hz and an AMTI force instrumented treadmill collecting at 2000 Hz were used in conjunction with a modified Plug-In Gait marker to collect trajectory and analog data for pre and post-cycling running trials. Ground reaction forces and temporal spatial parameters were assessed during stance of all running trials using Visual 3D software. Peak vertical ground reaction force and step length decreased significantly from pre-cycling to immediate post-cycling measures (p=.003, p<.001), no difference existed for either variable for pre-cycling vs. 10min post-cycling. Instantaneous peak vertical loading rate (IVLR) and step rate increased significantly from pre-cycling to immediate post-cycling measures (p=.05, p<.001), no difference existed for stride rate for pre-cycling vs. 10min post-cycling. IVLR remained significantly increased at the 10 min post-cyling (p=.035). The study findings suggest that fatigue from prolonged cycling can negatively impact triathletes’ ability to attenuate ground reaction forces in subsequent running.
Listed In: Biomechanics, Gait, Sports Science

Purpose: Research supports the use of ballroom dance to improve balance in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study used the Mark Morris Dance for PD program as a template for dance classes to examine the effects of dance on gait, balance, and quality of life in individuals with PD. Subjects : Eleven individuals with mild to moderate PD participated in the study. Methods : A trained instructor led dance classes for subjects once a week for 12 weeks. Participants were encouraged to use the Mark Morris Dance for PD At Home DVD twice a week for 45 minutes. Classes included a 20 min. seated warm up; a 20 min. supported standing portion focused on balance and strength; and 30 min. partnered movements for swing, shag, or tango. Data collected before and after the intervention included gait parameters (Protokinetics Zeno walkway), sway area (AMTI force platform) during mCTSIB, Mini-BESTest, Falls Efficacy Scale, Apathy Scale and PDQ-39. A paired-samples t-test was performed. Results : Participants had significant decrease in apathy following the intervention (P = 0.018). A significant decrease in the percentage of the double support phase of gait indicated individuals spent less time with both feet in contact with the ground (P = 0.019). Conclusions : An instructor-led dance class based on the Dance for PD program once per week for 12 weeks improved certain aspects of quality of life, but not necessarily gait and balance. Further research with increased frequency of supervised dance classes is indicated.
Listed In: Gait, Neuroscience, Physical Therapy