The ability to safely and efficiently negotiate stairs is an essential skill for independent ambulation. To date, basic research to identify biomechanical and physical costs is limited in older adults. In persons with ...

Total knee arthroplasty has been effective in reducing pain, but less so in restoring function, especially for activities requiring deep knee flexion. The philosophy of this dissertation was that more functionally effective ...

Prosthetic foot systems are typically composed of both structural keel and foot shell components. The interaction between these components is considered by the prosthetic device industry with respect to designing higher ...

Movement quality screening tools have been developed to reduce the risk of injury and enhance physical performance. These screening tools use observational techniques to analyze movement and identify faulty movement patterns. ...

Introduction: Age is associated with changes in tissue stiffness as well as higher muscle activity and an increase in the prevalence of low back pain. With increased worker age globally, and with the increased incidence ...

Recent literature suggests that passive prosthetic foot-ankle devices, when optimized, may provide similar energy performance as the natural foot, but this has yet to be realized with current designs. Of concern is the ...

Walking is the basis of human locomotion. With an increasing aging population, the need for devices that assist human walking are in demand. While several simple devices exist such as canes, braces, and walkers, to assist ...

Co-contraction is a common strategy when performing difficult or unstable motor tasks. For example, we co-contract muscles of the arm when generating downward force to turn a screw and co-contract muscles of the leg when ...

This work outlines the theoretical advantages of multivariate methods in biomechanical data, validates the proposed methods and outlines new clinical findings relating to knee osteoarthritis that were made possible by this ...

Current understanding of dynamic patellofemoral joint (PFJ) mechanics in literature is limited to static or very slow in vivo measurements. Two studies were performed across a wide range of functional movements to improve ...