The control processes underlying dynamic transitions in stance support during single leg flexion movements were investigated in human subjects as a function of the intended speed of movement, by examining the vertical and lateral horizontal components of the ground reaction forces, the frontal plane trajectory of the body center of mass (CM) recorded via motion analysis, and the electromyographic (EMG) recordings of selected lower limb muscles. For the slowest movements, the measured vertical force beneath the flexing and single stance limbs closely matched the vertical force-time history predicted by a quasi-static mechanical model, whereas, the more rapid natural and fast speeds showed progressively larger discrepancies between measured and predicted forces. The initial resultant horizontal force component was exerted in the flexing to stance limb direction but was proportionately greater (4:1) beneath the flexing versus the stance limb during fast and natural speeds, and became equivalent for slow movements. Speed related EMG differences included an early phasic recruitment of the lateral hip muscle of the flexing limb which always preceded the ground reaction force changes for fast and natural but not slow movements, and a considerably earlier onset of the stance leg knee extensor relative to the flexing limb knee flexor for slow versus fast and natural speeds. Overall, the findings suggested two different speed related strategies for linking the postural and intentional movement components, where the choice of the strategy selected appeared to reflect the mechanical requirements needed to overcome the inertial force of the body mass during transitions from bipedal to single limb stance support.
An intelligent stretching device was developed to treat the spastic/contractured ankle of neurologically impaired patients. The device stretched the ankle safely throughout the range of motion (ROM) to extreme dorsiflexion and plantarflexion until a specified peak resistance torque was reached with the stretching velocity controlled based on the resistance torque. The ankle was held at the extreme position for a period of time to let stress relaxation occur before it was rotated back to the other extreme position. Stretching was slow at the joint extreme positions, making it possible to reach a larger ROM safely and it was fast in the middle ROM so the majority of the treatment was spent in stretching the problematic extreme ROM. Furthermore, the device evaluated treatment outcome quantitatively in multiple aspects, including active and passive ROM, joint stiffness and viscous damping and reflex excitability. The stretching resulted in considerable changes in joint passive ROM, stiffness, viscous damping and reflex gain. The intelligent control and yet simple design of the device suggest that with appropriate simplification, the device can be made portable and low cost, making it available to patients and therapists for frequent use in clinics/home and allowing more effective treatment and long-term improvement.
Compared with young people, older people, and more so those at risk of falling, have an impaired ability to initiate and execute quick, accurate voluntary steps, particularly in situations where attention is divided.
A 3-week period of either voluntary or waist-pull-induced step training reduced step initiation time in older and younger adults. Moreover, compared with voluntary step practice, induced step training resulted in a significantly greater improvement in reaction time stepping for an auditory transfer cue task. At least in the short term, such step training has the potential to help older adults perform more like younger adults in their step initiation timing.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.