STUDY DESIGN Measurement of the kinematics of the lumbar spine after insertion of an interspinous spacer in vitro. OBJECTIVES To understand the kinematics of the instrumented and adjacent levels due to the insertion of this interspinous implant. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA An interspinous spacer (X Stop, SFMT, Concord, California) has been developed to treat neurogenic intermittent claudicat...

Farm youth commonly perform animal care tasks such as feeding and watering. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of age, bucket size, loading symmetry, and amount of load on upper body moments during carrying tasks. Fifty-four male and female participants in four age groups (8-10 years, 12-14 years, 15-17 years, and adults, 20-26 years) participated in the study. Conditions in...

OBJECTIVE To compare optical motion capture system (MoCap), attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) sensor, and Microsoft Kinect for the continuous measurement of cervical range of motion (ROM). METHODS Fifteen healthy adult subjects were asked to sit in front of the Kinect camera with optical markers and AHRS sensors attached to the body in a room equipped with optical motion capture ca...

Current neck injury criteria do not include limits for lateral bending combined with axial compression and this has been observed as a clinically relevant mechanism, particularly for rollover motor vehicle crashes. The primary objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of lateral eccentricity (the perpendicular distance from the axial force to the centre of the spine) on peak loads, ...

[Purpose] To examine the variations in the lumbopelvic rhythm and lumbar-hip ratio in the frontal plane. [Subjects and Methods] Markers were placed on the T10 and T12 spinous processes, bilateral paravertebral muscles at the T11 level, the pelvis, and the femur. Lumbar spine and hip angles were measured during lateral trunk bending using three-dimensional motion analysis. Data from the trunk la...

OBJECTIVE To define the kinematic motion patterns of the canine cervical spine, with a particular emphasis on identifying differences between the cranial (C(2)-C(4)) and caudal (C(5)-C(7)) segments, and to determine the significance of coupled motions (CM) in the canine cervical spine. STUDY DESIGN Cadaveric biomechanical study. SAMPLE POPULATION Cervical spines of 8 Foxhounds. METHODS Sp...

OBJECTIVES This study analyzed the effect of a standard and a modified checkout workstation during a simulated task on trunk postures of a supermarket checkout operator. METHODS Eight participants performed a task involving grasping, scanning and depositing products, while 3D images of the trunk were collected. RESULTS A number of kinematic changes were observed in trunk posture. A greater ...

Whole-body stiffness has a substantial impact on propulsive wave speed during axial undulatory locomotion in fishes. The connective tissues of the vertebral column may contribute to body stiffness, but without mechanical and kinematic analysis it is unclear whether the in vivo range of motion of intervertebral joints (IVJs) is great enough to stress IVJ tissues, thus generating stiffness. The p...

OBJECT Lumbar interbody fusion is indicated in the treatment of degenerative conditions. Laterally inserted interbody cages significantly decrease range of motion (ROM) compared with other cages. Supplemental fixation options such as lateral plates or spinous process plates have been shown to provide stability and to reduce morbidity. The authors of the current study investigate the in vitro st...

The aim of this work was to study the variability of physiological responses to bending and the relationship with hydraulic conductance of the sap pathway to the laterals for five apple genotypes. The study focuses on the fate of the laterals. The genetic variability of bending can have two sources: a genetic variability of stem geometry which can lead to differences in mechanical state; and a ...