OBJECTIVES To assess the time course of changes in physical performance in response to match-play tennis under heat stress. METHODS Two matches consisting of 20 min of effective playing time (2×10 min segments) were played in COOL (∼102 min; ∼22°C and 70% relative humidity (RH)) and HOT (∼119 min; ∼36°C and 35% RH) environments. Repeated-sprint ability (3×15 m, 15 s rest), 15 m sprint time wi...

Human standing requires control of multisegmental configuration. Does the postural system normally allow flexible adjustment of configuration, or does it minimize degrees of freedom at the ankle, knee, and hip joints? Gentle, external, unpredictable, sagittal, mechanical perturbations (randomized force, 1-10 N; duration, 0.2-2 s; and leg) were applied to either knee of 24 healthy participants w...

Based on the analysis of the stiffness relation between the operational space and the Ž ngertip space of multi-Ž ngered hands, this paper provides a guideline of task-based compliance planning for multi-Ž ngered robotic manipulations. In order to show the characteristics of the taskbased stiffness matrix, various twoand three-dimensional examples are illustrated. Also, it is shown that some of ...

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine whether calf compression sleeves (CS) affects physiological and biomechanical parameters, exercise performance, and perceived sensations of muscle fatigue, pain and soreness during prolonged (~2 h 30 min) outdoor trail running. Methods: Fourteen healthy trained males took part in a randomized, cross-over study consisting in two identical 24-k...

This work presents an electrophysiologically and dynamically consistent musculoskeletal model to predict stiffness in the human ankle and knee joints as derived from the joints constituent biological tissues (i.e., the spanning musculotendon units). The modeling method we propose uses electromyography (EMG) recordings from 13 muscle groups to drive forward dynamic simulations of the human leg i...

BACKGROUND The physical characteristics of bandage kits, in which different materials are combined, cannot be predicted by laboratory tests. They can only be assessed in vivo by measuring the interface pressure and calculation of stiffness. OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate pressure and stiffness of some widely used multicomponent, multilayer bandages and to investigate the effect of...

Trotting and hopping animals use muscles, tendons and ligaments to store and return elastic energy as they bounce along the ground. We examine how the musculoskeletal spring system operates at different speeds and in animals of different sizes. We model trotting and hopping as a simple spring-mass system which consists of a leg spring and a mass. We find that the stiffness of the leg spring (k(...

This paper investigates how the passive adaptability of an underactuated robot leg to uneven terrain is affected by variations in design parameters. In particular, the joint torque coupling ratio, segment length ratio, and rest angles are varied to determine configurations that allow for maximum terrain roughness adaptability while minimizing the transmission of disturbance forces to the body. ...