A system has been developed which is able to impose a fast ankle rotation during gait. The two-link system consists of a mechanical joint which is strapped to the calf and the foot of the subject. The mechanical joint turns around the anMe joint by means of bowden wires and it is connected to a motor placed next to a treadmill where the subject is walking. By position feedback from the mechanic...

OBJECTIVE To investigate a possible ankle-knee synergy, experiments with normal subjects were performed to compare changes of the quadriceps motor pool excitability due to ankle position and effort. METHODS Vastus medialis H reflex amplitude was examined during ankle isometric contractions conditioned by different ankle positions (dorsiflexion, neutral, and plantarfiexion) with or without vol...

INTRODUCTION Lateral ankle sprains belong to the most common injuries in sports and can result in chronic ankle instability (CAI) with residual symptoms like recurrent ankle sprains, ‘givingway’, pain or swelling [1]. In order to develop effective preventive and rehabilitative measures against lateral ankle sprains and CAI, it is important to get a detailed understanding of the related injury m...

BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive degenerative condition of synovial joints in response to both internal and external factors. The relationship of OA in one joint of an extremity to another joint within the same extremity, or between extremities, has been a topic of interest in reference to the etiology and/or progression of the disease. METHODS The prevalence of articular carti...

P.P.R.N. d’Hooghe, G.M.M.J. Kerkhoffs (eds.), The Ankle in Football, Sports and Traumatology, DOI 10.1007/978-2-8178-0523-8_24, © Springer-Verlag France 2014 Abstract Due to cumulative exposure to heavy physical demands and to the occurrence of traumatic ankle injuries during their career, former professional football players are likely to suffer in their post-sport life from ankle osteoarthrit...

PURPOSE Ankle joint dorsiflexion contributes to energy absorption during landing, but wearing ankle stabilizers is known to restrict passive measures of dorsiflexion. This study compared the effects of various ankle stabilizers on ankle joint kinematics during soft and stiff landings. METHODS Subjects (N = 14) performed two-legged landings off a 0.59-m platform. Kinematics of the right ankle ...

The sensation of joint stiffness is frequently observed after eccentric contractions (ECs) in human, but the joint stiffness of animals after ECs has not been examined previously. This study tested whether a bout of ECs affects rat ankle joint stiffness. We also evaluate muscle passive tension in the rat hindlimb to examine the relationships of ankle joint stiffness with muscle passive tension....

Total ankle joint replacement (TAR) has been offered as an alternative to ankle joint arthrodesis since the 1970s. TAR offers the benefit of perseveration of joint motion, with potential decreased occurrence of adjacent joint degeneration, and a more expedient path to weight bearing. Since their introduction, TAR devices have undergone a variety of modifications, specifically in regards to the ...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to elucidate changes in balance strategy during pregnancy from a kinematics perspective. [Subjects] Eight pregnant women and eight non-pregnant women participated. [Methods] A 3D motion analysis system, two force plates, and 10 infrared cameras were used to measure the kinematics of the balance strategy. The 3D motion analysis system was used to analyze p...