Abstract Background To compare the performance (as determined by lower extremity kinematics) of knee exercises in healthy middle-aged and older individuals immediately after instruction and one week later. Methods This is a cross-sectional study in a laboratory setting. Nineteen healthy volunteers (age [y] 63.1 ± 8.6, mass [kg] 76.3 ± 14.7, height [m] 1.7 ± 0.1) participated in this study. High speed video and reflective markers were used to track motion during four exercises. The exercises were knee flexion, straight leg raise, and “V “in supine position, and hip abduction in side lying position. All participants received verbal and tactile cues during the training phase and the therapist observed and, if necessary, corrected the exercises. Upon return a week later the participants performed the same exercises without any further instructions. Knee and hip sagittal and rotational angles were extracted from the motion capture. A repeated measures t-test was used to compare the motions between two visits. Results Participants demonstrated more knee flexion during straight leg raise and “V in” exercises at the 2nd visit compared to the 1st visit (both p < 0.05). During the “V out” exercise, they performed more external rotation ( p < 0.05) while they showed more internal rotation during the “V in” exercisemore »
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Motion Analysis of Balance Pre and Post Sensorimotor Exercises to Enhance Elderly Mobility: A Case Study
Quantitative assessment of movement using motion capture provides insights on mobility which are not evident from clinical evaluation. Here, in older individuals that were healthy or had suffered a stroke, we aimed to investigate their balance in terms of changes in body kinematics and muscle activity. Our research question involved determining the effects on post- compared to pre-sensorimotor training exercises on maintaining or improving balance. Our research hypothesis was that training would improve the gait and balance by increasing joint angles and extensor muscle activities in lower extremities and spatiotemporal measures of stroke and elderly people. This manuscript describes a motion capture-based evaluation protocol to assess joint angles and spatiotemporal parameters (cadence, step length and walking speed), as well as major extensor and flexor muscle activities. We also conducted a case study on a healthy older participant (male, age, 65) and an older participant with chronic stroke (female, age, 55). Both participants performed a walking task along a path with a rectangular shape which included tandem walking forward, right side stepping, tandem walking backward, left side stepping to the starting location. For the stroke participant, the training improved the task completion time by 19 s. Her impaired left leg had more »
- Publication Date:
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10403997
- Journal Name:
- Applied Sciences
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 2
- Page Range or eLocation-ID:
- 889
- ISSN:
- 2076-3417
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Study Design: Case report.
Level of Evidence: Level 5.
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Clinical Relevance: FRT may serve as a viable approach to improve knee strength and function after ACL reconstruction.
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