The purpose of the present study was to quantify vibration transmissibility through the lower extremity during exercise on a whole-body vibration (WBV) platform. Six healthy adults completed 20 trials of 30-second static squat exercise at 30 or 40 degrees of knee flexion angle on a WBV platform working at combinations of 5 frequencies (VF: 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 Hz) and 2 amplitudes (VA: low, 1.5 mm or high, 3 mm). Accelerations induced by the platform were recorded simultaneously at the shank and the thigh using triaxial accelerometers positioned at the segmental center of mass. Root-mean-square (RMS) acceleration amplitude and transmission ratios between the platform and the leg segments were calculated and compared between the experimental conditions. An alpha level of 0.05 was set to establish significance. Shank vertical acceleration was greatest at the lower VF (p = 0.028), higher VA (p = 0.028), and deeper squat (p = 0.048). Thigh vertical acceleration was not affected by depth of squat (p = 0.25), but it was greatest at higher VA (p = 0.046) and lower VF (p = 0.028). Medial-lateral shank acceleration was greatest at higher VF and deeper squat (both p = 0.046) and at higher VA (p = 0.028). Medial-lateral thigh acceleration was positively related to both VF (p = 0.046) and VA (p = 0.028) but was not affected by knee angle (p = 0.46). Anterior-posterior shank acceleration was higher at deeper squat (p = 0.046) and at lower VF and higher VA (both p = 0.028). Anterior-posterior thigh acceleration was related positively to the VA (p = 0.028), inversely to the VF (p = 0.028), and not dependent on knee angle (p = 0.75). Identification of specific vibration parameters and posture, which underpin WBV training efficacy, will enable coaches and athletes to design WBV training programs to specifically target shank or thigh muscles for enhanced performance.

Highlights Sit-to-walk (STW) and sit-to-stand-and-walk (STSW) are rise to walk transitions  Healthy subjects require less vertical force to rise from a higher seat height  Neither seat-height or lead-limb affect STW or STSW dynamics in healthy subjects  Normative data independent of lead-limb may inform rise to walk rehabilitation  Gait initiation (GI) in STSW is distinctive from GI following quiet-standing 2

BackgroundRising-to-walk is an everyday transitional movement task rarely employed in gait rehabilitation. Sit-to-walk (STW) and sit-to-stand-and-walk (STSW), where a pause separates sit-to-stand and gait-initiation (GI) represent extremes of rising-to-walk behaviour. Delayed GI can indicate pathological impairment but is also observed in healthy individuals. We hypothesise that healthy subjects express consistent biomechanical parameters, among others that differ, during successful rising-to-walk task performance regardless of behaviour. This study therefore sought to identify if any parameters are consistent between STW and STSW in health because they represent normal rise-to-walk performance independent of pause, and also because they represent candidate parameters sensitive enough to monitor change in pathology.MethodsTen healthy volunteers performed 5 trials of STW and STSW. Event timing, ground-reaction-forces (GRFs), whole-body-centre-of-mass (BCoM) displacement, and centre-of-pressure (CoP) to extrapolated BCoM (xCoM) distance (indicator of positional stability) up to the 3rd step were compared between-tasks with paired t-tests. For consistent parameters; agreement between-tasks was assessed using Bland-Altman analyses and minimal-detectable-change (MDC) calculations.ResultsMean vertical GRFs, peak forward momentum and fluidity during rising; CoP-xCoM separation at seat-off, upright, GI-onset, and steps1-2; and forward BCoM velocity were all significantly greater in STW. In contrast, peak BCoM vertical momentum, flexion-momentum time, and 3rd step stability were consistent between tasks and yielded acceptable reliability.ConclusionSTW is a more challenging task due to the merging of rising with GI reflected by greater CoP-xCoM separation compared to STSW indicative of more positional instability. However, BCoM vertical momentum, flexion-momentum time, and step3 stability remained consistent in healthy individuals and are therefore candidates with which to monitor change in gait rehabilitation following pathology. Future studies should impose typical pause-durations observed in pathology upon healthy subjects to determine if the parameters we have identified remain consistent.

Tendons are viscoelastic, which implies loading rate dependency, but loading rates of contractions are often not controlled during assessment of human tendon mechanical properties in vivo. We investigated the effects of sustained submaximal isometric plantarflexion contractions, which potentially negate loading rate dependency, on the stiffness of the human Achilles tendon in vivo using dynamometry and ultrasonography. Maximum voluntary contractions (high loading rate), ramp maximum force contractions with 3 s loading (lower loading rate) and sustained contractions (held for 3 s) at 25%, 50% and 80% of maximal tendon force were conducted. No loading rate effect on stiffness (25-80% max. tendon force) was found. However, loading rate effects were seen up to 25% of maximum tendon force, which were reduced by the sustained method. Sustained plantarflexion contractions may negate loading rate effects on tendon mechanical properties and appear suitable for assessing human Achilles tendon stiffness in vivo.

During gait, a failure to acknowledge the low-frequency component of a segmental acceleration signal will result in an overestimation of impact-related shock and may lead to inappropriately drawn conclusions. The present study was undertaken to investigate the significance of this low-frequency component in two distinctly different modalities of gait: barefoot (BF) and shod (SHOD) walking. Twenty-seven participants performed five walking trials at self-selected speed in each condition. Peak positive accelerations (PPA) at the shank and spine were first derived from the time-domain signal. The raw acceleration signals were then resolved in the frequency-domain and the active (low-frequency) and impact-related components of the power spectrum density (PSD) were quantified. PPA was significantly higher at the shank (P<0.0001) and spine (P=0.0007) in the BF condition. In contrast, no significant differences were apparent between conditions for shank (P=0.979) or spine (P=0.178) impact-related PSD when the low-frequency component was considered. This disparity between approaches was due to a significantly higher active PSD in both signals in the BF condition (P<0.0001; P=0.008, respectively), due to kinematic differences between conditions (P<0.05). These results indicate that the amplitude of the low-frequency component of an acceleration signal during gait is dependent on knee and ankle joint coordination behaviour, and highlight that impact-related shock is more accurately quantified in the frequency-domain following subtraction of this component.