The Applied Biomechanics Laboratory is very excited to have had SIX research abstracts accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics this summer in Raleigh, NC! Congratulations to all of the students on this big accomplishment!!

 

List of ABL abstracts at the American Society of Biomechanics Meeting:

Browne MG and Franz JR, Biofeedback decouples the effects of speed and propulsive force on joint power generation in walking.

Francis CA, Franz JR, Acuna S, Thelen DG, Gait and balance training improves gait variability in old adults.

Rasske K, Thelen DG, Franz JR, Aging effects on the Achilles tendon moment arm in vivo during walking.

Franz JR, Francis CA, Allen MS, Thelen DG, Visuomotor entrainment and the control of balance in walking.

Stokes HE, Thompson JD, Franz JR, The association between kinematic variability and muscle activity during perturbed walking.

Thompson JD, Thelen DG, Franz JR, Does walking balance control adapt to perturbed optical flow?

 

 

The Applied Biomechanics Laboratory had a wonderful time participating in the very first National Biomechanics Day on April 7! We had a terrific group of students and faculty involved at both UNC and NC State.

http://www.unc.edu/spotlight/exploring-new-discipline/

The Applied Biomechanics Laboratory was awarded a two year grant from the University Research Council titled “The role of propulsive capacity reserves in age-related mobility impairment.” We will collaborate on the project with the Drs. Pietrosimone and Ryan in the UNC Dept. of Exercise and Sports Science.

Drs. Jason Franz, Caterina Gallippi and Xiaogang Hu have been awarded a seed grant from the UNC/NC State Rehabilitation Engineering Core to fund their new collaboration, which aims to enhance understanding of neurological, functional, and mechanical non-uniformity in muscle following stroke.

The Applied Biomechanics Laboratory, in a collaboration spanning UNC and NC State, was awarded a one year seed grant from the UNC/NC State Rehabilitation Engineering Core titled “Electrocortical activity governing human balance control.” This work will be performed in collaboration with Prof. CS Nam from the NC State Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Our work integrating in vivo ultrasound imaging with musculoskeletal simulation to investigate muscle-tendon dynamics during walking has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Biomechanics. This work was performed in collaboration with Prof. Darryl Thelen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Imaging and simulation of Achilles tendon dynamics: implications for walking performance in the elderly. 

Abstract. The Achilles tendon (AT) is a complex structure, consisting of distinct fascicle bundles arising from each triceps surae muscle that may act as mechanically independent structures. Advances in tissue imaging are rapidly accelerating our understanding of the complexities of functional Achilles tendon behavior, with potentially important implications for musculoskeletal injury and performance. In this overview of our recent contributions to these efforts, we present the results of complementary experimental and computational approaches to investigate AT behavior during walking and its potential relevance to reduced triceps surae mechanical performance due to aging. Our experimental evidence reveals that older tendons exhibit smaller differences in tissue deformations than young adults between regions of the AT presumed to arise from the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. These observations are consistent with a reduced capacity for inter-fascicle sliding within the AT, which could have implications for the mechanical independence of the triceps surae muscles. More uniform AT deformations are also correlated with hallmark biomechanical features of elderly gait – namely, a loss of net ankle moment, power, and positive work during push-off. Simulating age-related reductions in the capacity for inter-fascicle sliding in the AT during walking predicts detriments in gastrocnemius muscle-tendon mechanical performance coupled with underlying shifts in fascicle kinematics during push-off. AT compliance, also suspected to vary due to age, systematically modulates those effects. By integrating in vivo imaging with computational modeling, we have gained theoretical insight into multi-scale biomechanical changes due to aging, hypotheses regarding their functional effects, and opportunities for experiments that validate or invalidate these assertions.

Congratulations to Michael Browne and Jessica Thompson for having their abstracts accepted for presentation at the 2016 Human Movement Science & Biomechanics Symposium. Michael will present his work titled “Decoupling the independent effects of walking speed and propulsive force on joint power generation in walking” and Jessica will present her work titled “Does walking balance control adapt to perturbed optical flow?”

Through an exciting collaboration with the Dept. of Exercise and Sports Science, the Applied Biomechanics Laboratory will assist in conducting a newly-funded, one year pilot project titled “Preventing knee osteoarthritis with a novel cartilage loading biofeedback intervention.”

The Applied Biomechanics Laboratory was awarded a one year pilot grant from the North Carolina Translational & Clinical Sciences Institute titled “Visuomotor entrainment and the control of balance in elderly gait.” We will collaborate on the project with the UNC Dept. of Exercise and Sports Science and UNC Division of Physical Therapy.