The objectives of this study were to characterize the active and passive contributions to joint kinetics during walking in healthy young and older adults, and assess whether isokinetic ankle strength is associated with ankle power output during walking. Twenty healthy young (18-35 years) and 20 healthy older (65-85 years) adults participated in this study. We measured subject-specific passive-e...

OBJECTIVE To quantify dynamic spasticity, i.e. the coupling between muscle-tendon stretch velocity and muscle activity during gait, of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in children with spastic cerebral palsy. DESIGN Prospective, cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS Seventeen ambulatory children with cerebral palsy with spastic calf muscles, and 11 matched typically developing children. MET...

This study investigated age-related differences in dynamic balance control and its connection to reflexes and explosive isometric plantar flexor torque in 19 males (9 Young aged 20-33 yr, 10 Elderly aged 61-72 yr). Dynamic balance was measured during Slow (15 cm/s) and Fast (25 cm/s) anterior and posterior perturbations. H/M-ratio was measured at 20% of maximal M-wave (H/M20%) 10, 30, and 90 ms...

[Purpose] The purpose of the study was to provide information for intervention by comparing lower limb muscle thickness, gross motor function and functional level of activity daily living between cerebral palsy (CP) and mental retardation (MR). [Subjects] Sixty subjects participated: 38 CP and 9 MR subjects and 13 normally developing infants. [Methods] Ultrasonography and a manual muscle tester...

Carbon fiber (CF) ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) can improve gait by increasing ankle plantar-flexor power and improving plantar-flexor ankle joint moment and energy efficiency compared with posterior leaf spring AFOs made of thermoplastic. However, fabricating a CF AFO to optimize the performance of the individual user may require multiple AFOs and expensive fabrication costs. Finite element analy...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the difference in activation patterns of the plantar intrinsic foot muscles during two quiet standing tasks with increasing postural difficulty. We hypothesised that activation of these muscles would increase with increasing postural demand and be correlated with postural sway. METHODS Intra-muscular electromyographic (EMG) activity was record...

The aim of this study was to define objectively gait function in children with treated congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) and a good clinical result. The study also attempted an analysis of movement within the foot during gait. We compared 20 children with treated CTEV with 15 control subjects. Clinical assessment demonstrated good results from treatment. Three-dimensional gait analysis prov...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate and compare the effects of stretching and combined therapy (stretching and massage) on postural balance in people aged 50 to 65 years. METHODS Twenty-three subjects participated in this nonrandomized clinical trial study. Each participant randomly received plantar flexor muscle stretching (3 cycles of 45 seconds with a 30-second recovery period between cycles) alone and ...

This study investigated the influence of the torque produced by plantar flexor muscles on cortical and spinal excitability during lengthening and shortening voluntary contractions. To that purpose, modulations of motor-evoked potential (MEP) and Hoffmann (H) reflex were compared in the soleus (SOL) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) during anisometric submaximal and maximal voluntary contraction (MV...