The purpose of this study was to examine the modulating effects of age on lower limb stiffness and net muscle joint activity degeneration when performing a functional activity involving SSC. Seven young males and seven older males were recruited as subjects for this study. A high-speed camera and a force plate were synchronized to collect the biomechanical parameters. The kinetic parameters wer...

We examined the effect of low-intensity single-leg exercise (20 or 30 watt, 5 min) on pulse wave velocity from the femoral to the ankle arteries in 18 young men. After the exercise, the velocity significantly decreased in the exercised leg, but not in the counterpart, suggesting that the decrease in arterial stiffness in the exercised leg was induced mainly by exercise-related regional factors.

In Parkinson's disease (PD) subtle balance abnormalities can already be detected in early-stage patients. One feature of impaired balance control in PD is asymmetry: one leg produces more corrective joint torque than the other. We hypothesize that in mild to moderately affected PD patients, the least impaired leg compensates for the more impaired leg. Twenty PD patients and eleven healthy match...

Transverse gallop is a common gait used by a large number of quadrupeds. This paper employs the simplified dimensionless quadrupedal model to discuss the underlying mechanism of the transverse galloping pattern. The model is studied at different running speeds and different values of leg stiffness, respectively. If the horizontal running speed reaches up to a critical value at a fixed leg stiff...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate concomitantly the changes in leg-spring behavior and the associated modifications in the lower limb muscular activity during a constant pace run to exhaustion at severe intensity. METHODS Twelve trained runners performed a running test at the velocity associated with VO(2max) (5.1 ± 0.3 ms(-1); mean time to exhaustion: 353 ± 69s). Running step spa...

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of footfall surface compliance on the physical parameters affecting barefoot racewalkers and runners. These parameters are identified using a new inverted pendulum body model with a forward moving foot pivot. Model correlations of footfall loads measured for four compliant surface mats showed leg-foot compression stiffness for both gaits...

Unilateral below-knee amputees develop abnormal gait characteristics that include bilateral asymmetries and an elevated metabolic cost relative to non-amputees. In addition, long-term prosthesis use has been linked to an increased prevalence of joint pain and osteoarthritis in the intact leg knee. To improve amputee mobility, prosthetic feet that utilize elastic energy storage and return (ESAR)...

A 67-year-old man developed compartment syndrome of the thigh following manipulation for treatment of knee stiffness after a total knee arthroplasty. Three months earlier, he had undergone arthroscopic synovectomies twice for treatment of septic arthritis in the same leg. Manipulation for treatment of stiffness concomitant with periarticular inflammation is a possible risk factor of compartment...