The effect of local muscle vibration on clinical and biomechanical parameters in people with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review.

Background: To identify and synthesize available published studies on the effect of local muscle vibration (LMV) on pain, stiffness, and function in individuals with knee OA. Methods: Five databases were searched to find relevant papers on April 29, 2020, including, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE (Ovid), Science Citation Index, and COCHRANE Central Register for Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and nonrandomized-controlled-trials (non-RCTs), such as interrupted time series and prospective cohort studies were included. Two independent reviewers screened articles and assessed inclusion through predefined criteria. Participants' characteristics, study design, intervention characteristics, outcomes, and main results were collected independently by 2 reviewers. The risk of bias assessment of included studies was conducted using Cochrane risk of bias tools for RCTs and non-RCTs. Results: Six studies were included: 3 RCTs and 3 non-RCTs. The risk of bias in included studies was generally moderate to high. Improvement of pain, stiffness, and function following the application of LMV were reported in all studies. Conclusion: This review revealed the promising effect of LMV on pain, stiffness, function, and knee range of motion (ROM) improvements for individuals with knee Osteoarthritis (OA). However, further well-designed studies are required to have a convincing conclusion on the effect of LMV in individuals with knee OA.

The effects of a short-term memory task on postural control of stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have been conducted on the changes in the balance capabilities of stroke patients. However, results regarding the effects of dual-task activities on postural control in these patients have been variable. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a short-term memory task on the sway characteristics of stroke patients. METHOD: Center of pressure (COP) fluctuations were measured in three levels of postural difficulty (rigid surface with closed and open eyes and foam surface with closed eyes), as well as two levels of cognitive difficulty (easy and difficult). COP parameters included mean velocity, standard deviation of velocity in both medial-lateral (M.L) and anterior-posterior (A.P) directions, total phase plane portrait, area. Nineteen stroke patients and 19 gender, age, height, and weight matching healthy volunteers participated in this study. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that mean velocity (F = 14.21, P = 0.001), standard deviation of velocity in both M.L (F = 17.50, P = 0.000) and A.P (F = 11.03, P = 0.002) directions, total phase plane portrait (F = 44.12, P = 0.001), and area (F = 13.95, P = 0.01) of center of pressure of patients were statistically greater than normal subjects, while significant interaction of group × postural difficulty and postural × cognitive difficulty were observed for all parameters of postural sway. CONCLUSIONS: Different measures of postural sway showed complex response to postural and cognitive difficulties between stroke patients and normals. Cognitive error was not affected by the main effects of group and postural difficulty, while greatly increased at more difficult cognitive task (F = 75.73, P = 0.000).

Evaluation of the lumbar and abdominal muscles behavior in different sagittal plane angles during maximum voluntary isometric extension.

Physical positions and lumbar movements are directly related to lumbar disorders. It is known that the sagittal plane angle affects the person's ability to apply extension torque. However, there is no consensus on whether or not muscle activity and co-contractions change at these angles. This paper aimed to investigate the abdominal and lumbar muscles' behavior at different sagittal plane angles during maximum voluntary isometric extension (MVIE). We have evaluated our findings with the aid of a computational biomechanical model. Fourteen healthy males participated. A total of 16 muscles EMG were recorded during the lumbar MVIE on the Sharif Lumbar Isometric Strength Tester device in 5°, 15°, 30°, and 45° flexion. The torque and muscle activity changes and all co-contraction indexes (CCI) between 120 possible muscle pairs were calculated. Finally, the experimental test conditions were modeled in the AnyBody software, and the MVIE torque, muscle activity, and all CCIs were calculated. Also, muscle torque lever arms were calculated at different angles. Results show that MVIE at four angles is 137.94 ± 36.08, 148.63 ± 47.96, 168.09 ± 50.48, and 171.44 ± 53.95 N · m, respectively. Muscle activity and CCI are similar at all angles. The AnyBody model gives similar findings. Muscles torque lever arms change with angle. In conclusion, to determine the safety mode of lifting in the sagittal plane, it seems that the torque differences are due to changes in the geometrical muscle parameters (including the torque lever arm). Despite the almost constant muscular effort, subjects in the 30°-45° bending positions can apply more MVIE.

Trunk muscle activity during holding two types of dynamic loads in subjects with nonspecific low back pain.

BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain due to manual lifting continues to be one of the significant common public health challenges in modern societies despite increased automation. While there are extensive studies on the biomechanics of lifting as associated with LBP, the role of unstable and time-varying dynamic loads, quite common in industrial lifting and daily life, remains elusive. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the response of trunk muscles in subjects with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) while holding unstable dynamic loads. METHODS: Twelve male patients with CNLBP and twelve healthy controls participated in this cross-sectional study. The subjects held static and dynamic loads in neutral positions. Normalized EMG data of the trunk muscles were captured and analyzed by repeated-measures ANOVA test. RESULTS: The low back pain group demonstrated significantly higher activation levels of the internal and external abdominal oblique muscles while holding dynamic loads (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the neuromusculoskeletal system in low back patients holding dynamic loads may invoke a motor control strategy that significantly increases muscle co-activation leading to higher joint stiffness at the expense of higher compressive loads on the lumbar spine. Importantly, the type of load plays a critical role in terms of external perturbations that may lead to spinal injury in CNLBP patients and must, therefore, be considered in the risk prevention and assessment of lifting and other manual material handling tasks.

Recovering the mechanical properties of denatured intervertebral discs through Platelet-Rich Plasma therapy.

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of low back pain instigating huge socioeconomic costs and posing an immense burden on healthcare systems worldwide. New therapeutic approaches to damaged intervertebral discs are therefore of great interest. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) has been proposed for the repair and regeneration of degenerated discs, but there remains a knowledge gap regarding its effectiveness and influence on disc material properties. The objective of this study was to investigate and quantify the material properties of intact, denatured, and PRP treated discs. A systematic methodology was established in the process, where ex-vivo experiments were conducted and material properties were extracted using an inverse finite element approach. The results showed that PRP is able to recover the mechanical properties of denatured discs, thereby providing a promising effective therapeutic modality.

Normal postural responses preceding shoulder flexion: co-activation or asymmetric activation of transverse abdominis?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is suggested that activation of the transverse abdominis muscle has a stabilizing effect on the lumbar spine by raising intra-abdominal pressure without added disc compression. However, its feedforward activity has remained a controversial issue. In addition, research regarding bilateral activation of trunk muscles during a unilateral arm movement is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate bilateral anticipatory activity of trunk muscles during unilateral arm flexion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen healthy subjects (aged 25 ± 3.96 years) participated in this study and performed 10 trials of rapid arm flexion in response to a visual stimulus. The electromyographic activity of the right anterior deltoid (AD) and bilateral trunk muscles including the transverse abdominis/internal oblique (TA/IO), superficial lumbar multifidus (SLM) and lumbar erector spine (LES) was recorded. The onset latency and anticipatory activity of the recorded trunk muscles were calculated. RESULTS: The first muscle activated in anticipation of the right arm flexion was the left TA/IO. The right TA/IO activated significantly later than all other trunk muscles (P < 0.0005). In addition, anticipatory activity of the right TA/IO was significantly lower than all other trunk muscles (P < 0.0005). There was no significant difference in either onset latency or anticipatory activity among other trunk muscles (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Healthy subjects showed no bilateral anticipatory co-activation of TA/IO in unilateral arm elevation. Further investigations are required to delineate normal muscle activation pattern in healthy subjects prior to prescribing bilateral activation training of transverse abdominis for subjects with chronic low back pain.

The study of the variability of anticipatory postural adjustments in patients with recurrent non-specific low back pain.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Intrinsic variability is present in all actions, including repetitive tasks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variability of anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) of trunk muscles in participants with low back pain (LBP). MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study included 21 participants with recurrent non-specific LBP (15 men, 6 women) and 21 healthy volunteers. Standard deviation of electromyographic activity of the external oblique (EO), transverse abdominis/internal oblique (TrA/IO), and erector spinae (ES) muscles onset relative to deltoid muscle onset was recorded in 75 rapid arm flexions, and the correlation with the participants' avoidance belief (the FABQ score) and disability (the Roland-Morris Questionnaire score) was statistically analyzed. RESULTS: participants with LBP exhibited less variability in timing of APAs of the TrA/IO muscle compared with the control group (P=0.047). The timing of APAs of the TrA/IO muscle was significantly correlated with the FABQ score (P=0.006). There was no significant correlation between this variable and disability (P=0.09). Decrease in variability of the timing of APA of the EO (P=0.45) and ES (P=0.6) muscles was not significant. CONCLUSION: The variability of the postural responses of participants with LBP decreased. Restoring variability in postural control responses might be a goal in rehabilitating these patients.

Analysis of different material theories used in a FE model of a lumbar segment motion.

In this study, a nonlinear poroelastic model of intervertebral disc as an infrastructure was developed. Moreover, a new element was defined consisting a disc (Viscoelastic Euler Beam Element) and a vertebra (Rigid Link) as a unit element. Using the new element, three different viscoelastic finite element models were prepared for lumbar motion segment (L4/L5). Prolonged loading (short-term and longterm creep) and cyclic loading were applied to the models and the results were compared with results of in vivo tests. Simplification of the models by using the new element leads to reduction of the runtime of the models in dynamic analyses to few minutes without losing the accuracy in the results.

Trunk muscles strength and endurance in chronic low back pain patients with and without clinical instability.

OBJECTIVES: Previous research has shown inconsistent findings regarding muscle endurance in chronic low back pain (CLBP). Questions also remain about muscle endurance in patients with clinical instability. The aim of this study was to investigate trunk muscles strength and endurance in CLBP patients with and without clinical instability. METHODS: 32 CLBP patients (15 with and 17 without clinical instability) and 39 matched healthy subjects participated in this study. The standing extension test was performed to assess the strength and endurance of the lumbar extensors while recording their electromyographic activity. The patients' disability was evaluated using the Oswestry and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaires. RESULTS: Patients with clinical instability showed lower maximal voluntary exertion (MVE) and higher time to fatigue (TTF) compared to healthy subjects (P=0.000 and P=0.008, respectively) and patients without instability (P=0.002 and P=0.02, respectively). There was no difference in these variables between patients without instability and healthy controls. A negative relationship between MVE and TTF and a positive correlation between disability and pain intensity were seen. CONCLUSION: Strength training of trunk extensor muscles can be considered as part of the treatment protocol for CLBP patients with clinical instability. Although patients without instability suffered from pain or disability, they showed more similarity to healthy subjects in terms of trunk muscles strength and endurance.

Computer simulation of knee arthrometry to study the effects of partial ACL injury and tibiofemoral contact.

We simulated the knee arthrometry test to obtain a deeper understanding of the joint's stability behavior and interpret the arthrometric results more effectively. A 2D sagittal plane finite element model of the lower limb in the standard configuration of knee arthrometry was developed using ANSYS APDL. A detailed model of the knee joint was considered including the femoral articulating contour represented by an ellipse, the tibial plateau represented by a circular arc, and four major knee ligaments and their individual bundles represented by linear and nonlinear tensile springs. A deformable layer of articular cartilage was also considered over the tibial plateau to simulate the bones engagement more precisely. The model was analyzed while the tibia was subjected to an anterior drawer force of up to 150 N with 10 N increments and the tibial anterior translation was obtained. Simulation of the arthrometry test for different curvatures of the tibial plateau revealed that the bones engagement has a considerable effect on the knee joint's laxity. However, a considerable change from the intact knee's data curve was only observed when the ACL total ruptured was simulated. This emphasizes the difficult task involved when trying to distinguish the partial injuries of the ACL using arthrometric data.

Design optimization of an above-knee prosthesis based on the kinematics of gait.

A dynamic model of an above-knee prosthesis during the complete gait cycle was developed. The model was based on a two-dimensional multi-body mechanical system and included a hydraulic and an elastic controller for the knee and a kinematical driver controller for the prosthetic ankle. The equations of motion were driven using Lagrange method. Simulation of the foot contact was conducted using a two-point penetration contact model. The knee elastic and hydraulic controller units, the knee extension stop, and the kinematical driver controller of the ankle were represented by a spring and a dashpot, a nonlinear spring, and a torsional spring-damper within a standard prosthetic configuration. The hip trajectory and net joint moment were considered as the initial conditions of the coupled differential equations. Design optimization of the prosthesis, to achieve the closest knee flexion pattern to that of the normal gait, resulted in a good correlation; the average differences with normal data were 3.3 and 3.4 deg for prosthetic knee and ankle joints, respectively. A parametric study showed that both increase and decrease of the stiffness by 50% caused an earlier knee flexion in stance phase and a lower knee flexion in swing phase. The effect of hydraulic controller damping coefficient on the flexion pattern of the prosthetic knee and ankle was only significant in the swing phase of the gait cycle.

Evaluation of spinal internal loads and lumbar curvature under holding static load at different trunk and knee positions.

A study was performed to investigate how different trunk and knee positions while holding static loads affect the lumbar curvature and internal loads on the lumbar spine at L4-L5. Ten healthy male subjects participated in this study. Two inclinometers were used to evaluate the curvature of lumbar spine, lordosis, while a 3D static biomechanical model was used to predict the spinal compression and shear forces at L4-L5. Eighteen static tasks while holding three level of load (0, 10 and 20 kg), two levels of knee position (45 and 180 degrees of flexion) and three levels of trunk position (neutral, 15 and 30 degree of flexion) were simulated for 10 healthy male subjects. The results of this study revealed that the lordosis of lumbar spine changed to kyphosis with increasing weight of load from 0 to 20 kg in trunk flexion position (p<0.05), but in squatting position (45 degrees knee full flexion) the higher load did not affect the curvature. The results of this study suggested, at a more flexed trunk and standing position with higher loads both external moment and internal loads increased significantly at L4-L5 level but with 45 knee flexion external moment and compression force increased and shear force decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Subjects made more effort to maintain stability of the body in squat position. The highest external moment and compression force were computed at flexed knee and trunk position with highest loads. Hence holding weight in this position must be avoided by implementing ergonomic change to the workplace.