The purpose of this study was to quantify adaptation to a new prosthesis in terms of mechanical work profiles. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge on how individuals adapt to a new prosthesis, with many studies investigating different prosthetic feet but not adaptation over time. Thus, there is a need for objective measures to quantify the process of adaptation. Mechanical power and work profiles are a prime subject for modern energy-storage-and-return type prostheses, as the amount of energy a prosthesis stores and returns (i.e., positive and negative work) during stance is directly related to how a user loads and unloads the limb. 22 individuals with unilateral, transtibial amputation were given a new prosthesis at their current mobility level (K3 or above) and wore it for a three-week adaptation period. Kinematic and kinetic measures were recorded from walking on overground force plates at 0, 1.5, and 3 weeks into the adaptation period. Positive and negative work done by the prosthesis and intact ankle-foot was calculated using a unified deformable segment model. Positive work from the prosthesis side increased by 6.1% and intact side by 5.7% after 3 weeks (p = .041, .036). No significant changes were seen in negative power from prosthesis or intact side (p = .115, .192). Analyzing work done by a prosthesis may be desirable for tracking a patient’s gait rehabilitation over time. Future work may analyze how mechanical work profiles relate to more traditional clinical measures.

INTRODUCTION
Running-related injuries are most often single-sided and are partially attributed to lower limb movement and loading asymmetries. For example, runners with tibial stress fractures demonstrate asymmetry in loading rate. Running is a dynamic athletic event in which runners often engage in both inclined and declined running with the goal of improving conditioning. Symmetry Angle (SA) is a commonly used, robust measure of determining symmetry. The purpose of this study was to compare peak vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) symmetry using the SA during uphill, level and downhill running on an instrumented treadmill.
METHODS
Eleven healthy adults volunteered to participate in this study and running at 2.7 m/s at grades of 0°, 5.74° incline and 5.74° decline were analyzed. SA was computed using the peak VGRF values from both the limbs.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
No statistically significant differences in SA were observed between the three running conditions. (p=0.61) The unexpected uniformity in vertical GRF across uphill, level, and downhill running is consistent with the absence of changes in the peak magnitudes of the GRF observed previously. This suggests that neither moderate uphill or downhill running result in increases in peak GRF that may be considered injurious.
CONCLUSIONS
This was the first study that looked at kinetic symmetry using peak GRF in healthy recreational runners during the three running conditions. This study suggested that uphill and downhill running does not contribute to potential differences in interlimb symmetry and could be considered as a safe alternative to level running on a treadmill.

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.

Calculating and interpreting joint moments using marker position and ground reaction force (GRF) data is a fundamental part of gait biomechanics research. Due to noise in marker positions, these data are low-pass filtered prior to performing inverse dynamics. Traditionally, kinematic data are filtered at low cutoff frequencies (~6 Hz) and kinetic data are filtered at high frequencies (~30-100 Hz). This technique can result in joint moment impact peaks, particularly during high-impact movements. Filtering marker and GRF data at the same cutoff frequency has been suggested to attenuate these impact artefacts. The effect of various filtering approaches on joint moments in walking is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of low-pass filtering cutoff frequencies on joint moments during walking. We hypothesized that filtering would not affect peak joint moments during walking due to smaller violations of the rigid body assumption compared to high-impact movements. Kinetic and kinematic data were collected for twenty-four health adults walking at self-selected speed. Marker position and GRF were smoothed using a 4th-order dual-pass Butterworth filter with cutoff frequencies of 6/45 Hz, 6/6 Hz, 10/10 Hz, for markers and GRF, respectively. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA tested for the effect of filter frequency on peak hip and knee joint moments. Peak hip and knee moments were greater when filtered at 10/10 Hz compared to 6/45 Hz. Although there were differences between cutoff frequency conditions, the effect sizes were small, suggesting that the differences are not large enough to have a meaningful effect.