Search results for "Joints"
showing 10 items of 147 documents
Muscle tone in different joint positions and at submaximal isometric torque levels
2007
The aim was to evaluate the tone and electric activity of the quadriceps muscle at rest and different torque levels. The second aim was to study whether thickness of soft tissues and change in the joint position would affect muscle tone. Eighteen healthy subjects participated. Computerized muscle tonometer (CMT) and surface electromyography (sEMG) measurements were performed: seated, first at rest with leg straight and then with the knee at 60 degrees . Thereafter measurements were obtained at levels of 80, 60, 40 and 20% of the maximum isometric torque at the same knee angle. Thickness of skin, subcutis and muscle was measured by ultrasound. The CMT values taken were the depth the indenter…
Effect of static foot posture on the dynamic stiffness of foot joints during walking
2018
Background The static foot posture has been related to the development of lower limb injuries. Research question This study aimed to investigate the dynamic stiffness of foot joints during gait in the sagittal plane to understand the role of the static foot posture in the development of injuries. Methods Seventy healthy adult male subjects with different static postures, assessed by the Foot Posture Index (FPI) (30 normal, 20 highly pronated and 20 highly supinated), were recruited. Kinematic and kinetic data were recorded using an optical motion capture system and a pressure platform, and dynamic stiffness at the different stages of the stance was calculated from the slopes of the linear r…
Dynamic Flexion Stiffness of Foot Joints During Walking
2016
Background: Dynamic stiffness can be used for studying foot pathologic abnormalities and for developing prostheses and orthoses. Although previous works have studied the role of ankle joint stiffness during gait, other foot joints have not yet been analyzed. We sought to characterize the dynamic stiffness of the ankle, midtarsal, and metatarsophalangeal joints during normal walking.Methods: Kinematics and contact data from four healthy individuals during walking were registered with a three-dimensional motion analysis system and a pressure platform. Stance phases with flexion moment-angle linear relationships were identified, and dynamic stiffnesses were calculated from the slope of their l…
Individuality of movements in music--finger and body movements during playing of the flute.
2013
The achievement of mastery in playing a composition by means of a musical instrument typically requires numerous repetitions and corrections according to the keys and notations of the music piece. Nevertheless, differences in the interpretation of the same music piece by highly skilled musicians seem to be recognizable. The present study investigated differences within and between skilled flute players in their finger and body movements playing the same piece several times on the same and on different days. Six semiprofessional and four professional musicians played an excerpt of Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2 several times on three different days. Finger and body movements were recorded by …
Stretch shortening cycle fatigue: interactions among joint stiness, reflex, and muscle mechanical performance in the drop jump
1996
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of strenuous stretch-shortening cycle exercise on the relationship between reflex and stiffness regulation during the drop jump. Ten healthy male subjects performed submaximal stretch-shortening cycle exercise on a special sledge apparatus. Exhaustion occurred on average within 3 min. A drop jump test from a 50-cm height was performed immediately before and after the sledge exercise, as well as 2 h, 2 days and 4 days later. The fatigue exercise showed relatively high blood lactate concentrations 12.5 (SD 2.6) mmol·l−1 and a 2-day delayed increase of serum cretaine kinase concentration. In drop jumps, the short latency M1 compone…
Investigating centre of mass stabilisation as the goal of posture and movement coordination during human whole body reaching
2000
In the light of experimental results showing significant forward centre of mass (CoM) displacements within the base of support, this study investigated if whole body reaching movements can be executed whilst keeping the CoM fixed in the horizontal axis. Using kinematic simulation techniques, angular configurations were recreated from experimental data imposing two constraints: a constant horizontal position of the CoM and an identical trajectory of the hand to grasp an object. The comparison between recorded and simulated trials showed that stabilisation of the CoM was associated with greater backward hip displacements, which became more marked with increasing object distance. This was in c…
Allelic variants of IL1R1gene associate with severe hand osteoarthritis
2010
Background In search for genes predisposing to osteoarthritis (OA), several genome wide scans have provided evidence for linkage on 2q. In this study we targeted a 470 kb region on 2q11.2 presenting the locus with most evidence for linkage to severe OA of distal interphalangeal joints (DIP) in our genome wide scan families. Methods We genotyped 32 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this 470 kb region comprising six genes belonging to the interleukin 1 superfamily and monitored for association with individual SNPs and SNP haplotypes among severe familial hand OA cases (material extended from our previous linkage study; n = 134), unrelated end-stage bilateral primary knee OA cases (n =…
Variability of the Dynamic Stiffness of Foot Joints: Effect of Gait Speed
2019
Background:Comparison of dynamic stiffness of foot joints was previously proposed to investigate pathologic situations with changes in the properties of muscle and passive structures. Samples must be controlled to reduce the variability within groups being compared, which may arise from different sources, such as gait speed or Foot Posture Index (FPI).Methods:Variability in the measurement of the dynamic stiffness of ankle, midtarsal, and metatarsophalangeal joints was studied in a controlled sample of healthy men with normal FPI, and the effect of gait speed was analyzed. In experiment 1, dynamic stiffnesses were obtained in three sessions, five trials per session, for each participant, ta…
Publisher Correction: Anticipatory postural adjustments during joint action coordination
2019
There is a current claim that humans are able to effortlessly detect others' hidden mental state by simply observing their movements and transforming the visual input into motor knowledge to predict behaviour. Using a classical paradigm quantifying motor predictions, we tested the role of vision feedback during a reach and load-lifting task performed either alone or with the help of a partner. Wrist flexor and extensor muscle activities were recorded on the supporting hand. Early muscle changes preventing limb instabilities when participants performed the task by themselves revealed the contribution of the visual input in postural anticipation. When the partner performed the unloading, a co…
Risk for periodontal disease in patients with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis.
1998
Objective. To quantify periodontal disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and controls, and to correlate the degree of destruction from periodontal disease and from RA Methods. Fifty RA patients were matched for age, sex, smoking status, and oral hygiene with 101 controls. Correlations between indices of chronic destruction in periodontal disease (gingival attachment loss) and in RA (Larsen radiographic score) were determined. Results. Patients with longstanding active RA (mean ± SD 13 ± 8 years) who were receiving treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (n = 46), corticosteroids (n = 38), or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (n = 43) had a higher rate of gingival blee…