Content - Volume 29, Issue 1

The influence of suprathreshold electrical stimulation of the extensor and flexor carpi radialis muscles on biomechanical and functional movement parameters is compared with the effect of a standardized active repetitive training of hand and fingers. Twelve patients suffering from ischaemic lesions in the territory of the middle cerebral artery participated in the study, which was conducted using ...

Postural sway characteristics in a group of 15 left hemiparetic patients were compared with those in a group of 15 right hemiparetic patients using a statokinesimetric platform. The results in the two patient groups were also compared with those derived from a group of 15 age-matched healthy control subjects. Three postural sway parameters were used: the total sway area, the anteroposterior sway a ...

Correlations between the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ), the Pain Disability Index (PDI), PDI subscales PDI factor 1 (PDI 1), PDI factor 2 (PDI 2) and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain intensity on the one hand and spine range of motion measures and static and dynamic functional performance tests on the other, were studied in 52 chronic low back pain patients. Comparable groups of male and ...

The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), an instrument comprising five dimensions devised by Russell and co-workers (7) to measure gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP) or brain damage, enables changes in performance status to be evaluated after therapy or when monitored over time. We analysed its inter-rater and intra-rater reliability on the three most difficult dimensions. A ...

This study was undertaken to investigate the use of vibromyography (VMG) as a tool for quantifying skeletal muscle force production. Fourteen healthy volunteers were pretested using a Cybex isokinetic dynamometer to determine their isometric quadricep maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) values. On the basis of these results, the subjects were separated into two groups: high-force ("HF" MVC mean = ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a three-direction accelerometer is useful for measuring daily physical activity. Physical activity, being an important part of human behavior, may be related to various aspects of health and disease. In this study, the relationship between the intensity of each action and the three-direction accelerometer (Actigraph) output was compared in 10 he ...

The activation of the oblique fibres of vastus medialis, the postero-lateral fibres of vastus lateralis, and rectus femoris was studied by surface electromyography, during the force development of a maximal isometric contraction, performed near full extension (20 degrees of flexion), by 49 patients with chronic patellofemoral problems and 20 normal subjects. In the normal subjects activation of ob ...

This study investigated the relationships existing between torque, velocity and power output during plantarflexion. Using a Biodex dynamometric system, 15 healthy subjects performed three maximal dynamic tests, ranging from -12 degrees (-0. 209 rad) of dorsiflexion to +47 degrees (+0. 818 rad) of plantarflexion and one static test (test 4) at an angle of +10 degrees (+0. 174 rad). The dynamic asse ...

"Correct" body mechanics during lifting are believed to protect the back by employing knee and hip flexion while keeping the back straight. Lower limb joint stress, however, has been largely ignored. We compared hip cartilage contact stress during "leg lifting" with "back lifting" (lifting with bent or straight knees, respectively) in a subject fitted with a pressure instrumented hip endoprosthesi ...