Object localization in space signals in the absence of an external reference (visual, auditory, haptic) involves a signal of the head in space (vestibular). The present study asks whether signals of body position relative to the support surface (proprioceptive) are involved as well, by investigating the role of vestibular-neck interaction (dissociating head and trunk position). Normal human sub...

Purpose The synergistic effects of a trunk orthosis and an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) in stroke patients with a hemiplegic gait are unclear. We previously developed a trunk orthosis with joints providing resistive force (TORF) to modify malalignment of the trunk and pelvis and confirmed its positive effects in stroke patients during level walking without an AFO. The aim of the present study was ...

Neuromuscular control of spinal stability may be represented as a control system wherein the paraspinal muscle reflex acts as feedback response to kinetic and kinematic disturbances of the trunk. The influence of preparatory muscle recruitment for the control of spinal stability has been previously examined, but there are few reported studies that characterize paraspinal reflex gain as feedback...

The single leg squat and single leg step down are two commonly used functional tasks to assess movement patterns. It is unknown how kinematics compare between these tasks. The purpose of this study was to identify kinematic differences in the lower extremity, pelvis and trunk between the single leg squat and the step down. Fourteen healthy individuals participated in this research and performed...

Hemiparesis is common following stroke. The ability to reach and grasp is a necessary component of many daily life functional tasks, hence reduced upper limb function has an impact on the ability to perform activities of daily living. In hemiparetic patients, the unrestricted and unguided repetition of a motor task may reinforce compensatory movements. Trunk restraint allowed the patients to us...

The study proposes a rigid-body biomechanical model of the trunk and whole upper limb including scapula and the test of this model with a kinematic method using a six-dimensional (6-D) electromagnetic motion capture (mocap) device. Large unconstrained natural trunk-assisted reaching movements were recorded in 7 healthy subjects. The 3-D positions of anatomical landmarks were measured and then c...

When a toddler starts to walk without support, gait kinematics and electromyographic (EMG) activity differ from those of older children and the body displays considerable oscillations due to poor equilibrium. Postural instability clearly affects motor patterns in adults, but does instability explain why toddlers walk with a different gait? Here we addressed this question by comparing kinematics...

When a toddler starts to walk without support, gait kinematics and EMG activity differ from those of older children and the body displays considerable oscillations due to poor equilibrium. Postural instability clearly affects motor patterns in adults, but does instability explain why toddlers walk with a different gait? Here we addressed this question by comparing kinematics and EMGs in toddler...

A case-control study was conducted to determine whether or not kinematic-based low back disorder risk measurement (Marras et al. 1993) of the job was significantly different for those workers suffering from recent low back injuries compared to asymptomatic controls. Two hundred low back injured workers returning to full duty work and 200 asymptomatic controls were evaluated while performing the...

We investigated whether a modified 50th-percentile Hybrid III test dummy (HTD) (First Technology Safety Systems, Plymouth, MI) would have motion similar to a wheelchair test pilot (TP) with T8 paraplegia. Test cases were seated in a Quickie P100 electrically powered wheelchair (Sunrise Medical, Inc., Phoenix, AZ) driven at three speeds (0.8, 1.4, and 2.0 m/s). Three braking conditions-joystick ...