Mechanical factors have been implicated in the progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Understanding how these factors change as the condition progresses would elucidate their role and help in developing interventions that could delay the progress of knee OA. In this cross-sectional study, we identified kinematic and kinetic variables at the hip, knee, and ankle joints that change between three clinically distinct levels of knee OA disease severity: asymptomatic, moderate OA, and severe OA. The severity level was based on a combined radiographic/symptomatic clinical decision for treatment with (severe) or without (moderate) total knee replacement surgery. Gait variables that changed between groups were categorized as: those that differed between the asymptomatic group and both OA groups, those that differed between the asymptomatic group and the severe OA group only, or those that changed progressively, that is, the asymptomatic differed from the moderate OA, and the moderate OA differed from the severe OA group. Changes seen in both OA subject groups compared to asymptomatic included increased mid-stance knee adduction moments, decreased peak knee flexion moments, decreased peak hip adduction moments, and decreased peak hip extension moments. Changes found only in the severe knee OA group included multiple kinematic and kinetic differences at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Gait differences that progressed with OA severity included decreased stance phase knee flexion angles, decreased early stance knee extension moments, decreased peak stance phase hip internal rotation moments, and decreased peak ankle dorsiflexion moments. ß

It was postulated that the increased perpendicular distance from the line of action of the resultant ground reaction force to the knee joint center played a role in this increased energy absorption.

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that, under isovelocity conditions, older compared with young humans would 1). be slower to reach target velocity and 2). exhibit a downward shift in the torque-velocity and power-velocity relationships in the ankle dorsiflexor and knee extensor muscles. We studied 12 young (26 +/- 5 yr, 6 men/6 women) and 12 older (72 +/- 6 yr, 6 men/6 women) healthy adults during maximal voluntary concentric contractions at preset target velocities (dorsiflexion: 0-240 degrees /s; knee extension: 0-400 degrees /s) using an isokinetic dynamometer. The time to target velocity was longer in older subjects in the dorsiflexors and knee extensors (both P

The purpose of the present study was to examine the neuromuscular modifications of cyclists to changes in grade and posture. Eight subjects were tested on a computerized ergometer under three conditions with the same work rate (250 W): pedaling on the level while seated, 8% uphill while seated, and 8% uphill while standing (ST). High-speed video was taken in conjunction with surface electromyography (EMG) of six lower extremity muscles. Results showed that rectus femoris, gluteus maximus (GM), and tibialis anterior had greater EMG magnitude in the ST condition. GM, rectus femoris, and the vastus lateralis demonstrated activity over a greater portion of the crank cycle in the ST condition. The muscle activities of gastrocnemius and biceps femoris did not exhibit profound differences among conditions. Overall, the change of cycling grade alone from 0 to 8% did not induce a significant change in neuromuscular coordination. However, the postural change from seated to ST pedaling at 8% uphill grade was accompanied by increased and/or prolonged muscle activity of hip and knee extensors. The observed EMG activity patterns were discussed with respect to lower extremity joint moments. Monoarticular extensor muscles (GM, vastus lateralis) demonstrated greater modifications in activity patterns with the change in posture compared with their biarticular counterparts. Furthermore, muscle coordination among antagonist pairs of mono- and biarticular muscles was altered in the ST condition; this finding provides support for the notion that muscles within these antagonist pairs have different functions.

Consistent preferences for particular types of movement suggest criteria for movement selection. These can be important when, as is usually the case, infinitely many movements allow a task to be achieved. The experiments reported here were designed to identify the source of a strong preference observed in earlier object-manipulation studies. In those earlier studies, subjects usually grabbed objects to be moved from one location to another in a way that afforded a comfortable final posture rather than a comfortable initial posture (the end-state comfort effect). The comfortable final state usually allowed the forearm to be at or near the middle of its range of motion on the pronation-supination dimension. The hypothesis tested here was that the end-state comfort effect stemmed from an expectation that movements can be made more quickly in the middle of the pronation-supination range than at either extreme. To test this hypothesis, we asked subjects, in the first experiment, to perform a handle rotation task that demanded little or no precision and so no need to make rapid to-and-fro homing-in movements near the end of the rotation. Half the subjects did not show the end-state comfort effect, in contrast to all previous studies, where all subjects showed the effect. An incidental finding of the first experiment was that handle rotations that ended at or near the end of the range of motion took longer than handle rotations that ended at or near the middle of the range of motion. To test the latter result more carefully, we asked subjects, in Experiments 2 and 3, to oscillate the forearm as quickly as possible, either in the supination part of the forearm rotation range, in the middle part of the range, or in the pronation part of the range. As predicted, oscillation frequencies were highest in midrange, and this was true for both hands. The results as a whole have implications for the relation between cognitive psychology and biomechanics, and for human factors.

These data suggest that compared with LSSF and LSS, INC provides enhanced muscular loading of key mono- and bi-articular muscles during both swing and stance phases.

A popular hypothesis for human running is that gait mechanics and muscular activity are optimized in order to minimize the cost of transport (CoT). Humans running at any particular speed appear to naturally select a stride length that maintains a low CoT when compared with other possible stride lengths. However, it is unknown if the nervous system prioritizes the CoT itself for minimization, or if some other quantity is minimized and a low CoT is a consequential effect. To address this question, we generated predictive computer simulations of running using an anatomically inspired musculoskeletal model and compared the results with data collected from human runners. Three simulations were generated by minimizing the CoT, the total muscle activation or the total muscle stress, respectively. While all the simulations qualitatively resembled real human running, minimizing activation predicted the most realistic joint angles and timing of muscular activity. While minimizing the CoT naturally predicted the lowest CoT, minimizing activation predicted a more realistic CoT in comparison with the experimental mean. The results suggest a potential control strategy centred on muscle activation for economical running.