Max Thurston’s second PhD article examined the acute effects of a robotic exosuit on walking in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The study demonstrates that the exosuit can immediately improve ankle movement, increasing dorsiflexion during the swing phase and effectively alleviating drop-foot on the more-affected side. It also enabled more natural plantarflexion during push-off, compared to orthoses that typically restrict this motion. Although peak ankle moment was enhanced, this did not lead to increased positive power from the more-affected ankle. No significant changes were observed in muscle activity or energy cost, suggesting that the exosuit does not acutely influence these parameters upon initial use. These findings highlight the exosuit’s potential to support more typical gait patterns in children with CP.
Read the full article here.
Isokinetic dynamometry (IKD) and inverse dynamics (ID) — two widely used methods to estimate joint moments — were found not to agree when applied to measure force outputs from ankle plantarflexors and knee extensors. Understanding these differences helps resolve contradictions in the literature and enable more accurate assessments of muscle and tendon function. Read the full article here.
Our presentations:
Comparison of maximal joint moments measured by isokinetic dynamometer versus inverse dynamics method
The choice of lowpass filter cutoff frequency affects the interpretation of joint moments in gait
Comparing three coordinate systems in conventional gait model 2.3: knee moment insights from walking, single-leg squats and drop jumps
Performance-injury conflict in lower extremity biomechanics during jumping and cutting movements
This time, we had only one presentation on the differences in joint moments measured by an isokinetic dynamometer versus the inverse dynamics method. See you next year at the Karolinska Institute!
Di Wang’s meta-analysis study examined whether different injury prevention interventions can change knee motion in a way that could reduce the risk of ACL injury (i.e., more knee flexion and less valgus motion during movement tasks). The results show that changes in knee motion were achieved only through external focus instructions and internal focus of attention in jumping tests, while no interventions could change knee motion in cutting movements. This movement specificity in the effectiveness of altering knee motion provides insight into efforts to reduce ACL injury risk. Find the article from here.
Maxwell Thurston’s first PhD article found a more uniform spatial-EMG amplitude distribution across the Gastrocnemius medialis muscle in adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP), compared to the distal emphasis observed in typically developing (TD) adolescents (see video below). Furthermore, this more uniform spatial-EMG distribution was associated with stronger ankle co-contraction and increased spasticity in the cerebral palsy group. Read the full article from here.
Our presentations:
Insights from high-density EMG analysis during exoskeleton-augmented walking in patients with Cerebral Palsy
A 30 minutes of walking reduces ankle joint stiffness in children with CP
Are clinical measurements related to spasticity appearance in dynamic movement in CP?
Our presentation in ISEK: Towards understanding muscle activation asymmetry in idiopathic scoliosis – A pilot study
Our group has the following presentations in the ESMAC conference:
Metabolic Cost Reductions Are Associated with Reduced Muscle Activity When Walking with a Robotic Exosuit in Patients with Cerebral Palsy
Relationship between spastic catch measurements and ankle joint movement in walking and hopping in children with cerebral palsy
Antigravity muscle efforts during walking determined in an inverse dynamics approach
Patients with scoliosis have dysfunctional spinal muscles - a preliminary study
Helsingin Sanomat wanted to examine the effects of shoe cushioning on the biomechanics of running. Our analysis revealed that that leg stiffness is adjusted to accommodate different shoe cushioning properties. Read more.
Helsinki GMG is founded and growing. The purpose of this webpage is to inform about the research work of our group.