There has been no consistent explanation as to why humans prefer changing their gait from walking to running and from running to walking at increasing and decreasing speeds, respectively. This study examined muscle activation as a possible determinant of these gait transitions. Seven subjects walked and ran on a motor-driven treadmill for 40s at speeds of 55, 70, 85, 100, 115, 130 and 145% of t...

[Purpose] This study investigated the effect of the Weight-bearing Exercise for Better Balance program on the strength of hip flexors, extensors, abductors, adductors, and knee flexors and extensors and balance in osteopenia. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-four postmenopausal females with osteopenia volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly assigned into two equal groups of 12: ...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effects of 24 weeks of whole-body-vibration (WBV) training on knee-extension strength and speed of movement and on counter-movement jump performance in older women. DESIGN A randomized, controlled trial. SETTING Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics Laboratory, Leuven, Belgium. PARTICIPANTS Eighty-nine postmenopausal women, off hormone replacement therapy, age...

Functional movements require concerted actions of monoarticular and biarticular agonists and antagonists. Understanding age-related changes of muscle function on performance requires insight in the contributions of different muscles to joint moments. Young and elderly participants performed isometric knee extensions and flexions at combinations of knee and hip joint angles. This approach allowe...

RATIONALE A 33-year-old male presented with complete weakness of the right extremities due to corona radiata infarct. PATIENT CONCERNS The main concerns of the patient is recovery of hand function especially related to finger extension. DIAGNOSES Right corona radiata infarct. INTERVENTIONS He underwent physical therapy and occupational therapy at the outpatient clinic of the rehabilitatio...

This study aimed to establish the differences in muscle activation between a 6-minute simulated race (all-out test) and a submaximal (blood lactate [LA] concentration 4 mmol·L(-1)) 6-minute effort (submax test) on a rowing ergometer. Eleven healthy, well-trained subjects performed the submax test followed after 1-hour rest by the all-out test. Surface electromyographic (sEMG) signal of muscles ...

This study assessed muscle inhibition in patients with chronic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency or ACL reconstruction. A series of protocols were tested for their effectiveness in increasing activity of the individual knee extensor muscles and decreasing muscle inhibition of the whole quadriceps group. Quadriceps muscle inhibition was measured by superimposing an electrical twitch on...

BACKGROUND Resistance training studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) often use short intervention periods. Furthermore, training efficiency could be optimized by unilateral training and/or electrical stimulation. OBJECTIVE To examine the effect(s) of unilateral long-term (20 weeks) standardized resistance training with and without simultaneous electro-stimulation on leg muscle strength and overa...

Triple jumpers employ either an asymmetrical 'single-arm' action or symmetrical 'double-arm' action in the takeoff of each phase of the jump. This study investigated which technique is more beneficial in each phase using computer simulation. Kinematic data were obtained from an entire triple jump using a Vicon automatic motion capture system. A planar 13-segment torque-driven subject-specific c...

BACKGROUND The authors compared the efficacy of the different approaches to saphenous nerve block. METHODS The following approaches to saphenous nerve block were compared in 10 volunteers: perifemoral, transsartorial, block at the medial femoral condyle, below-the-knee field block, and blockade at the level of the medial malleolus. Each volunteer underwent all five blocks, and the interval be...