The article presented two proposals for construction of a flexible element with variable stiffness, in which construction is limited, or is it completely eliminated the mechanical elastic member such as spring. Their properties vary in the extent applicable member stiffness and speed of reaction to contact with an obstacle. By limiting, or eliminating the mechanical elastic member can be achiev...

Proprioception comes from muscles and tendons. Tendon compliance, muscle stiffness, and fluctuating activity complicate transduction of joint rotation to a proprioceptive signal. These problems are acute in postural regulation because of tiny joint rotations and substantial short-range muscle stiffness. When studying locomotion or perturbed balance these problems are less applicable. We recentl...

osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease.the main pathologic manifestation of disease is local destruction of cartilage in diarthrodial joint. new bone formation in marginal surface of the joint is a sign progressive disease. many systemic and local factors are introduced in initiate and progression of osteoarthritis include: age, sex, weight, race, genetic background, bone densitometry,...

PURPOSE To examine the relationships between anterior knee laxity (AKL), genu recurvatum (GR), and general joint laxity (GJL) with sagittal plane energetics in males and females during a drop jump task. METHODS A total of 68 females and 50 males were measured for AKL, GR, and GJL and were instrumented to obtain neuromuscular and biomechanical data on their dominant limb during the initial lan...

Background: Adequate passive stiffness of the hip joint can prevent the occurrence of excessive transverse plane lower limb movement during functional activities. Strength training of the hip lateral rotator muscles can be used to increase the stiffness of this joint. However, the relationship between hip joint passive stiffness and muscle strength remains undocumented in the literature. Object...

BACKGROUND Adequate passive stiffness of the hip joint can prevent the occurrence of excessive transverse plane lower limb movement during functional activities. Strength training of the hip lateral rotator muscles can be used to increase the stiffness of this joint. However, the relationship between hip joint passive stiffness and muscle strength remains undocumented in the literature. OBJEC...

a parametrik investigation was conducted to study the non-linear behavior of precast and cast-in-place reinforced concrete beam-column connections subjected to tabas seismic forces (1979). the behavior of these types of connections in a four stories structure with respect to strength, ductility , stiffness, and bond deterioration at the joint core are presented and discussed. calculation result...

Current articulating electric and body-powered hands have a lower pinch force (15-34 N) than electric hands with stiff fingers (55-100 N). The cosmetic glove, which covers a hand prosthesis, negatively affects the mechanical efficiency of a prosthesis. The goal of this study is to mechanically compare polyvinylchloride (PVC) and silicone cosmetic gloves and quantify the stiffness of the finger ...

The majority of plantar ulcers in the diabetic population occur in the forefoot. Peripheral neuropathy has been related to the occurrence of ulcers. Long-term diabetes results in the joints becoming passively stiffer. This static stiffness may translate to dynamic joint stiffness in the lower extremities during gait. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to demonstrate differences in...

Because wrist rotation dynamics are dominated by stiffness (Charles SK, Hogan N. J Biomech 44: 614-621, 2011), understanding how humans plan and execute coordinated wrist rotations requires knowledge of the stiffness characteristics of the wrist joint. In the past, the passive stiffness of the wrist joint has been measured in 1 degree of freedom (DOF). Although these 1-DOF measurements inform u...