Background The Lower Quarter Y Balance Test (YBT-LQ) has been widely used to register dynamic balance performance in children and adolescents. However, studies evaluating age- and sex-specific normative data to assess and classify YBT-LQ performance for these age-cohorts are missing. Objective Thus, we investigated YBT-LQ performance in healthy youth to provide age- and sex-specific reference values

Background Instrumented treadmills are potentially useful tools for the assessment of gait parameters in orthopaedic clinical settings, but their measurement properties remain uncertain. Research question What is the discriminant validity and reproducibility of spatiotemporal and kinetic gait parameters measured by a pressure-instrumented treadmill at different speeds and inclinations in patients with

Background Central processing of multi-sensory feedback and motor commands responsible for force production are critical for postural control. An exercise program was developed to realign spinal curvature, but its effect on postural control is unknown. Research Question To what extent would the exercise program influence on center of pressure (CoP) sway on stable and unstable surfaces?. Methods Subjects

Background Between-limb step length asymmetry is common following transtibial amputation (TTA) and contributes to negative health consequences. There are limited evidence-based interventions targeting reduced gait asymmetry for people with TTA. Split-belt treadmill walking with asymmetrical belt speeds has successfully reduced gait asymmetry in other patient populations. However, individuals with non-traumatic

Background Gait asymmetry is an important characteristic often studied in stroke patients. Several methods have been used to define gait asymmetry using joint angles. However, these methods may require normative data from healthy individuals as reference points. This study used normalized cross-correlation (CCnorm) to define kinematic gait asymmetry in individuals after stroke and investigated the

Background The Foot Posture Index (FPI) was originally validated only against two dimensional radiographic imaging at the time of its inception since weight bearing three dimensional (3D) imaging did not exist. This technology is now widely available but it is not known if the FPI will continue to correlate well against it. Research question: How does the clinical assessment tool of FPI correlate against

Background Commercially available physical activity trackers are very popular in the general population and are increasingly common in clinical and research settings. The marketfor activity trackers are rapidly expanding, requiring them to be validated on an ongoing basis. Different approaches have been used for validating these devices. Studies using treadmills shows good step-counting accuracy although

Background Despite advances in laboratory-based supervised fall risk assessment methods (FRAs), falls still remain a major public health problem. This can be due to the alteration of behavior in laboratory due to the awareness of being observed (i.e., Hawthorne effect), the multifactorial complex etiology of falls, and our limited understanding of human behaviour in natural environments, or in the’

Background During everyday locomotion, we cope with various internal or external perturbations (e.g. uneven surface). Uncertainty exists on how unpredictable external perturbations increase noise within the motor system and if they are compensated by employing covariation of the limb joints or rather due to decreased sensitivity of an altered posture. Research question Do continuous stochastic perturbations

Background Hallux valgus (HV) contributes to deficits in static balance and increased fall risk in older adults. Very limited research has examined dynamic balance deficits in walking in this population. These individuals generally walk slowly, as balance challenge is lesser at slow speeds. Research question How does the dynamic balance of older adults with HV differ from healthy controls at controlled

Background Pathologic gait is common in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Single-event multilevel surgery (SEMLS) is a combination of surgical procedures to improve pathologic gait in patients with CP. However, the effect of each procedure is difficult to predict. The gait deviation index (GDI) is useful in comparing pre- and postoperative improvement. Research question In this study, we evaluated

Background Pain and proprioception deficits are often associated with knee pathologies and resultant quadriceps muscle inhibition. There is a need for new approaches to mitigate active knee pain and restore muscle function during walking. Activating properties of the somatosensory system with common pain and sensory pathways offers a novel opportunity to enhance quadriceps function during walking.

Background Control of body orientation requires head motion detection by the vestibular system and small changes with respect to the gravitational acceleration vector could cause destabilization. Research question We aimed to compare the effects of different head orientations on gait stability in young adults, dancers and older adults. Methods Three groups of 10 subjects were evaluated, the first composed

Background The human tracking algorithm called OpenPose can detect joint points and calculate joint angles. However, the reliability and validity of OpenPose have not been clarified yet. Research question: Are there the enough reliability and validity of OpenPose based motion analysis? Methods 20 healthy young subjects participated in this study. The motion task was a bilateral squat. The joint angles

Background Children with static encephalopathy often walk with excessive knee and hip flexion throughout the gait cycle. This crouch gait pattern can be debilitating. These children may undergo hamstring-lengthening procedures to correct this crouch gait. Some improve, while others remain in crouch gait or go into knee hyperextension postoperatively, which can ultimately be debilitating. Research question

Background Predictors of recovery in patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) currently used in prognostic models are scalar in nature, despite many physiological measures originally lying on the functional scale. Traditional modelling techniques cannot harness the potential predictive value of functional physiological variables. Research question What is the classification performance of PFPS status of

Background: Manual annotation of initial contact (IC) and end contact (EC) is a time consuming process. There are currently no robust techniques available to automate this process for Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients with freezing of gait (FOG). Objective: To determine the validity of a data-driven approach for automated gait event detection. Methods: 15 freezers were asked to complete several straight-line

Background Fajen and Warren’s steering dynamics model can reproduce human paths around an extended barrier by adding ‘waypoints’ at each end – if one waypoint is selected to minimize the global path curvature (Gérin-Lajoie and Warren, 2008). We propose that waypoint selection behaves like a choice between two competing goals, in which the smaller distance (d) and deviation angle (β) is preferred (Ulrich

Background A hinged ankle-foot orthosis is prescribed for children with spastic unilateral cerebral palsy to improve gait function by correcting spastic equinus. However, little is known about how orthotic management relates to muscle activity during walking in this population. Research question Does muscle activity in medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior change in children with spastic unilateral

Background This paper updates our 2011 systematic review on the clinical efficacy of three-dimensional instrumented gait analysis (3DGA). Research question What is the current evidence base pertaining to the clinical efficacy of 3DGA? Methods We identified English language articles published from September 2009 to October 2019 reporting primary research that used typical motion analysis laboratory

Background Previous studies have reported good test-retest reliability for peak knee adduction moment (KAM) during walking. However, reliability of other KAM measurements has not been established. Research question What is the test-retest reliability of peak KAM, KAM impulse, and KAM loading rate measurements during walking in knee-healthy individuals? Methods Data from 32 knee-healthy participants

Research Objective The current study set out to determine whether individuals walking in a virtual reality environment pass through apertures made of two avatars differently than apertures created by two pole obstacles, as previously observed between pole and human obstacles in real-world environments. Methods Eleven healthy young adults wore a head-mounted virtual reality display, walked along a 10 m

Background Dynamic balance control degrades during pregnancy, but it is not yet understood why. Mechanical aspects of the body should directly affect walking balance control, but we have recently published papers indicating that weight gains during pregnancy explain very little dynamic balance changes. Our goal was to determine if lower extremity joint kinematic changes are an indicator of walking

Introduction Falls are associated with numerous risk factors, such as motor and cognitive impairments. However, the neural correlates of falls are poorly understood. Objectives Here, we aimed to assess patterns of structural, and resting-state functional connectivity (FC) alterations related to falls in a group of older adults with a history of falls compared to non-fallers. Methods Fourteen elderly

Background Walking training is an essential intervention to improve the function in stroke patients. However, only a limited number of gait training strategies are available for stroke patients with relatively severe disabilities. Research question Is underwater gait training or overground gait training more effective in severe stroke patients? Methods A total of 21 patients with severe hemiplegic

Background Inertial sensors are increasingly useful to clinicians and researchers to detect gait deficits. Reference values are necessary for comparison to children with gait abnormalities. Objective To present a normative database of spatiotemporal gait and turning parameters in 162 typically developing children and young adults ages 5−30 utilizing the APDM Mobility Lab® system. Methods Participants

Background Percutaneous osseointegrated (OI) docking of prosthetic limbs returns loading directly to the residual bone of individuals with amputations. Lower limb diaphyseal biomechanics have not been studied during the wide range of daily activities performed by individuals with lower extremity amputations; therefore, little is known about the loads experienced at the bone-endoprosthetic interface

Background Age-related cognitive decline may be delayed with appropriate interventions if those at high risk can be identified prior to clinical symptoms arising. Gait variability assessment has emerged as a promising candidate prognostic indicator, however, it remains unclear how sensitive gait variability is to early changes in cognitive abilities. Research question Do community-dwelling adults over

Background Diminished balance confidence increases the risk of a fall and falls that occur when turning during walking are associated with an eightfold increase in hip fractures compared to when walking in a straight trajectory. Although an effect of aging on turning is revealed, the role of gender during turning is not yet clear. Research Question How can balance confidence impact turning behavior

Background Inertial sensors can detect between-limb asymmetries in shank angular velocity (SAV) during loading response of walking in individuals with ACL reconstruction (ACLR), which may be indicative of abnormal knee joint loading. However, it is unknown whether these SAV asymmetries would exist up to 6 months post-ACLR and how they differ from SAV asymmetries in uninjured healthy subjects. Research

Background Functional ambulation limitations are features of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and knee osteoarthritis (OA). With numerous validated walking assessment protocols and a vast number of spatiotemporal gait parameters available from sensor-based assessment, there is a critical need for selection of appropriate test protocols and variables for research and clinical applications. Research Question

Background Plantar pressure reduction with the use of cushioning materials play an important role in the clinical management of the diabetic foot. Previous studies in people without diabetes have shown that appropriate selection of the stiffness of such materials can significantly enhance their capacity to reduce pressure. However the significance of optimised cushioning has not been yet assessed for

Background Balance problems in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) require appropriate evaluation. While the Mini-BESTest is commonly used to assess dynamic balance, some of its psychometric properties have not yet been addressed. Research question What is the responsiveness and the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) of the Mini-BESTest in patients with PD? Methods One-hundred forty-eight patients

Background Kinematic changes in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) have been extensively studied. Concerns have been raised whether the measured spatiotemporal and kinematic alterations are associated with disease progression or merely a result of reduced walking speed. Research question: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of walking speed on kinematic parameters in patients

Background It is known that the patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) has different spatiotemporal characteristics than healthy controls such as average speed, cadence, step and stride length parameters. CLBP is a heterogeneous phenomenon in terms of causing various level of disability. Research question Does disability levels make a difference on spatiotemporal characteristics of patients with

BACKGROUND The differences in anatomical structure between men and women are widely known. Unfortunately, the influence of gender on the biomechanics of a healthy knee joint during gait is still poorly understood. RESEARCH QUESTION The aim of the presented study was to determine loads acting in the knee joint during gait, based on the observation of a large group of healthy young adults, in particular

Background Ageing commonly disrupts the balance control and compensatory postural responses that contribute to maintaining balance and preventing falls during perturbation of posture. Improvement of compensatory postural responses during walking is one of the main goals in fall prevention programs which often include treadmill walking training. However, during treadmill walking, there is a sensory

Background Flatfoot has a very high incidence of obese children. Functional parameters such as plantar pressures and center of pressure (COP) are sensitive to foot type. However, previous foot biomechanical studies of obese children rarely excluded the flatfoot as a prerequisite of the participants involved. Research question This study aimed to determine whether it is essential to define flatfoot

Background Human babies are carried by their caregivers during infancy, and the use of ergonomic aids to wear the baby on the body has recently grown in popularity. However, the effects of wearing or holding a baby in-arms on an individual’s mechanics during gait and a common object retrieval task are not fully understood. Research question What are the differences in: 1) spatiotemporal, lower extremity

Background While gait assessments are recommended to evaluate fall risk in older adults, these often involve walking in a straight line, even though one-third of steps taken throughout the day involve turning. Falls that occur during a turn tend to be more serious than falls that occur during a straight walk, but little is known about how gait variables collected during a turn can predict falls. Research

BACKGROUND Physical activity during pregnancy has many health benefits yet few pregnant women meet US guidelines for physical activity. Traditionally, physical activity has been measured as time spent in moderate and/or vigorous intensity activity, but quantifying intensity is challenging. There is increasing interest in measuring both daily steps and stepping rate, or cadence, as an indicator of physical

BACKGOUND Dynamic valgus has been the focus of many studies to identify its association to an increased risk of running-related injuries. However, it is not known which physical and biomechanical variables are associated with this movement dysfunction. RESEARCH QUESTION This study aimed to test the correlation between strength, flexibility and biomechanical variables and dynamic valgus in female runners

BACKGROUND Transverse-plane kinematic deviations of lower limbs are common in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP), often with detrimental consequences for gait. RESEARCH QUESTION To identify the most important factor among rotational anomalies of lower limbs for gait in children with UCP. METHODS In a descriptive observational study, 42 children with UCP (age; 5-8 years) who had the ability

Background Although commonly used to study knee osteoarthritis (OA), relatively little is known about the reliability and validity of three-dimensional (3D) gait biomechanics derived from treadmill-based systems. Research question Using a treadmill-based gait analysis system, our objectives were to: 1) estimate the test-retest reliability of frontal and sagittal plane knee angles and moments in knee

BACKGROUND Increased postural balance challenge is associated with more fluctuations in centre of pressure movement, indicating increased interference from the postural control system. The role of intrinsic foot muscles in balance control is relatively understudied and whether such control system interference occurs at the level of these muscles is unknown. RESEARCH QUESTION Do fewer fluctuations in

BACKGROUND An implication of the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning [1] is that standardized clinical and laboratory assessments of physical capacity and motor performance likely do not reflect true maximal capabilities unless they are "optimized" with appropriate testing conditions. The influence of motivational (enhanced expectancies, EE, and autonomy support, AS) and attentional (an external attentional

Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) show poor walking performance compared to healthy adults. Leverage changes may provide insight into this walking abnormality, since they have important effects on both biomechanical and physiological variables. Hence, we investigated the differences in internal and external moment arms at the knee and ankle joints, as well as the effective mechanical advantage

BACKGROUND Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy may cause knee osteoarthritis, which may be related to altered joint loading. Previous research has failed to demonstrate that exercise can reduce medial compartment knee loads following meniscectomy but has not considered muscular loading in their estimates. RESEARCH QUESTION What is the effect of exercise compared to no intervention on peak medial tibiofemoral

BACKGROUND Excessive rearfoot eversion motion during walking has been considered as a risk factor for lower limb chronic injuries. External moment due to ground reaction force (GRF) is the essential cause by which the rearfoot is passively everted during walking. RESEARCH QUESTION This study aims to identify the key factors influencing the rearfoot external eversion moments due to the GRF during walking

BACKGROUND Round shoulder posture (RSP) is one of the potential risks for shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) due to alignment deviation of the scapula. Evidence on how the characteristics of a shoulder brace affecting the degree of RSP, shoulder kinematics, and associated muscle activity during movements is limited. RESEARCH QUESTION The purposes of this study were (1) to compare the effects of a

Background The inability to adjust step length can lead to falls in older people when navigating everyday terrain. Precisely targeted forward placement of the leading foot, constituting step length adjustment, is required for adaptive gait control, but this ability may reduce with ageing. The objective of this study was to investigate ageing effects on step length adaptation using real-time biofeedback

BACKGROUND Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the preferred surgical treatment of end stage osteoarthritis of the knee. However, up to 20% of patients are dissatisfied after TKA. Moreover, kinesiophobia is negatively correlated with functional outcomes. RESEARCH QUESTION The aim of this study was to compare the effects of combined concentric-eccentric versus concentric program on muscular strength assessment

BACKGROUND Hamstring lengthening remains the most common surgical procedure in the treatment of crouch gait for children with cerebral palsy (CP). While sagittal plane knee kinematics have been shown to improve post-surgery, the effects on transverse plane kinematics have not been reported. Given the differing actions of the medial and lateral hamstring muscles there is potential for change in tibial

BACKGROUND There is emerging evidence that gait variability outcomes provide unique insights regarding the status of an individual's locomotor control system; however, there is currently limited evidence on the within-day reliability of stride time variability (STV) outcomes, or whether they demonstrate diurnal variation, when measured during continuous, overground walking in healthy young adults.

BACKGROUND Recently, the use of treadmills for walking and running has increased due to lifestyle changes. However, biomechanical differences in coordination between running on a treadmill or overground have not been adequately addressed. RESEARCH QUESTION The purpose of this study was to compare coordination and its variability in lower limb segments during treadmill and overground running at different

BACKGROUND The Wii Balance Board (WBB) is widely studied as a balance testing platform and is reliable in detecting changes in the body's center of pressure (COP). However, the relationship between WBB derived measures and clinical tests of balance is currently unknown. RESEARCH QUESTION To investigate the association between static and dynamic COP measures from the WBB with balance tests commonly

BACKGROUND Flexed-knee gait is a common pattern associated with cerebral palsy (CP). It leads to excessive forces on the knee and is thought to contribute to pain and deformity. While studies have shown improvements in mid-stance knee flexion following surgery there remains a lack of prospective data on the progression of flexed-knee gait in the absence of surgery. RESEARCH QUESTION Does knee flexion

BACKGROUND Individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) demonstrate impairments in muscle function (i.e. muscle weakness, high muscle co-activation believed to have detrimental effects on joint integrity). Women with knee OA exhibit poorer health outcomes than men. Sex and muscle function are known risk factors for knee OA. It is unclear how these risk factors are associated with muscle function in knee

BACKGROUND It has been shown that cognitive loading affects postural control in different populations. However, there is limited and conflicting information about dual task challenges on postural control in chronic ankle instability (CAI). RESEARCH QUESTION Does cognitive task performance change standing postural control in individuals with CAI, copers and healthy subjects? METHODS A descriptive, analytic

BACKGROUND Visual dual-task skills are essential for stable ambulation in everyday life such as walking while reading text. Gait analysis in a virtual environment can provide insight into altered walking performance while visual dual-tasking. RESEARCH QUESTION How visual dual-tasking including cognitive load of reading text and altered optical flow influences walking speed and stability in healthy