Motion analysis in patients with postpartum sacroiliac joint dysfunction: A cross-sectional case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with sacroiliac joint dysfunction are limited in daily life activities such as gait, climbing stairs and rising from a chair. It is well known that individuals with chronic low back pain have impaired balance compared to healthy individuals. This cross-sectional case-control study aims to investigate spatiotemporal parameters, center of pressure and mass, pelvic angles and other joint angles in patients with sacroiliac joint dysfunction in comparison with healthy controls. METHODS: Motion analysis existed of three tasks: (1) normal gait, (2) single-leg-stance, and (3) sit-to-stance. Spatiotemporal parameters, center of pressure, pelvic angles and other joint angles were measured using a twelve-camera, three-dimensional motion capture system and ground reaction force platforms. FINDINGS: Thirty subjects were recruited for this study; ten patients, ten matched controls and ten healthy student controls. For gait, patients had a lower cadence, longer double support phase, shorter step length and slower walking speed than controls. For single-leg-stance, patients had a smaller hip angle of the risen leg than controls. Also, variability in center of pressure was larger in patients. For sit-to-stance, the total time to perform the task was almost doubled for patients compared to controls. INTERPRETATION: This study demonstrates that patients with sacroiliac joint dysfunction have an impaired gait, more balance problems during standing and standing up compared to healthy controls. This novel information assists to further comprehend the pathology and disease burden of sacroiliac joint dysfunction, in addition, it may allow us to evaluate the effect of current therapies.

Active monitoring versus immediate abduction as treatment of stable developmental dysplasia of the hip: a systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aims to compare the effects of active monitoring and abduction treatment on the Graf alpha angle, Acetabular Index (AI) and femoral head coverage in infants with stable developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). DESIGN: Systematic review reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. DATA SOURCES: A search of the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science databases was performed in January 2020 and updated in January 2021. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: (Non-)randomised studies comparing active monitoring with abduction treatment in infants younger than 4 months with stable DDH were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: All eligible articles were methodologically assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tools. Data were extracted by summarising the study characteristics and results. RESULTS: Of the six included studies, two randomised studies were of low risk and two of some concerns. Two non-randomised studies were of serious risk. In total, 544 dysplastic hips (439 infants) were investigated, of which 307 were observed and 237 were treated. Two studies reported a faster improvement of the alpha angle and average acetabular coverage in treated hips at 3 months. No differences in AI between the treatment and observation group after 3 months were reported. In total, 38 infants (12%) in the observation group switched to the treatment group. At the final radiograph, 21 observed hips and 32 treated hips were dysplastic. CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in AI between the treatment and observation group after 3 months in infants up to 4 months of age with stable DDH hips. The switch of 38 infants (12%) from the observation to the treatment group corroborates that not all infantile DDH hips will spontaneously progress into normal hips. The small study population sizes and methodological heterogeneity warrant a large randomised controlled trial to study this research question. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD4202123300.

Framework for In-Field Analyses of Performance and Sub-Technique Selection in Standing Para Cross-Country Skiers.

Our aims were to evaluate the feasibility of a framework based on micro-sensor technology for in-field analyses of performance and sub-technique selection in Para cross-country (XC) skiing by using it to compare these parameters between elite standing Para (two men; one woman) and able-bodied (AB) (three men; four women) XC skiers during a classical skiing race. The data from a global navigation satellite system and inertial measurement unit were integrated to compare time loss and selected sub-techniques as a function of speed. Compared to male/female AB skiers, male/female Para skiers displayed 19/14% slower average speed with the largest time loss (65 ± 36/35 ± 6 s/lap) found in uphill terrain. Female Para/AB skiers utilized DP, DK, and DIA, 61/43%, 15/10%, and 25/47% of the distance at low speeds, respectively, while the corresponding numbers for male Para/AB skiers were 58/18%, 1/13%, and 40/69%. At higher speeds, female Para/AB skiers utilized DP and OTHER, 26/52% and 74/48% of the distance, respectively, while corresponding numbers for male Para/AB skiers were 29/66% and 71/34%. This indicates different speed thresholds of the classical sub-techniques for Para than AB skiers. The framework provides a point of departure for large-scale international investigations of performance and related factors in Para XC skiing.