ABSTRACT
Introduction: Singe leg balance (SLB) is a key neuro-biomechanical asset of several fundamental and advanced closed kinetic chain activities of lower limbs. From the perspectives of healthy ageing and fall prevention strategies, there is a compelling need to explore and devise a safe and effective SLB assessment tool to incorporate in multifactorial health evaluations and gerontological education. Methodology: About twenty dynamic SLB exercise techniques were opted and used as assessment techniques to build a dynamic SLB assessment scale. Results: As a preliminary testing, when this assessment scale was applied on non-athlete individuals in the age group of 35 to 50 years old, nine men (Mean body weight = 79 Kg, Mean fat percentage = 32) and five women (Mean body weight = 65 Kg, Mean fat percentage = 36), who have been exercising two to three days per week under the supervision of exercise professional, they displayed excellent SLB in almost all the techniques. Conclusion: It is prudent to utilize this dynamic SLB assessment scale not only to diagnose and quantify SLB performance but also to motivate the individuals by giving the highest rating even if the individuals display precise SLB only after multiple trials and errors. Numerous such simple, inexpensive and non-invasive diagnostic tools are needed in the health education and health care system.
ABSTRACT
Human existence and their health rely on their intellectual interactions with ecosystem which eventually accompanies brilliant technological innovations. At par with the technological progress, humans also have been facing several intimidating communicable and non-communicable diseases. Amidst such disease threats, humans have discovered multiple ways to uplift the average life span all over the globe but still not up to the fitness benchmarks of healthy ageing trajectory. COVID-19 has specifically revealed the fragility of humans as they continue succumbing exponentially to the interactions of this communicable disease with their existing non-communicable diseases like hypertension, cardiac pathology and diabetes. In human evolution, the COVID-19 pandemic could be the most perfect synapse or intersection of non-communicable diseases with this transmissible disease leading to a situation that can be even named as “Global Medical Stampede” characterized by sudden increase in the number of patients requiring life-saving procedures for which there is lack of adequate manpower and technological support in health care system. This whole chaotic scenario could easily trigger acute psychological and physiological stress primarily caused by fear among the public favoring the frightening consequences of the pandemic. This article aims to suggest refinement in public health paradigms to enable preparations to face such disease threats from the immediate future without further procrastination.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Cadence and step length are important biomechanical variables of walking and running but they are not typically monitored by the treadmills. This study explains a novel non-invasive method to estimate the step length of walking and running to maximize the professional skills and scientific capabilities of Physiotherapists and Exercise professionals. Methodology: Seventeen individuals (10 men and 7 women) who have been undergoing supervised fitness training programs were selected for the biomechanical analysis of the relationship between cadence and step length of walking and running on the treadmill in the speeds ranging from 5 Km/h to 15 Km/h for men and 5 Km/h to 12 Km/h for women. Results: Exercisers displayed wide range of step length strategies to manage the walking and running speeds opted for the experiment. Additionally, when the same exercisers were allowed to exhibit their maximum running speed in the outdoor environment, a statistically significant difference was found because all of them faced psychological constraints to explore or sustain their fastest running ability on the treadmill. Conclusion: Assessment of cadence and step lengths of the patients and exercisers looks indispensable. Visual counting method to calculate the cadence can be easily acquired through practice, usually accompanied by the development of the skill to compute the step lengths using mathematical formulae. The same method can be used to ascertain if the individuals are adapting symmetrical or asymmetrical step lengths by just separately counting the number of steps produced by each lower extremity for a specific time length (30 seconds or 60 seconds). Experts should continue exploring such feasible, non-invasive and inexpensive diagnostic procedures.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Physiotherapists have been trained to possess unique superspeciality potential to conduct biomechanical analyses by visual observations and decode the kinetics of various static and dynamic postures. This distinct skill of Physiotherapists enables them to make accurate clinical diagnosis with credible rationale in many occasions without even the support of any specialized equipment. Additionally, apart from the ability to directly examine the patients elaborately in the clinical settings, Physiotherapists are also inherently capable of Non-participant observation to endlessly upgrade their knowledge and interpretation skills by just visually observing various movement patterns in sports, household activities, occupational tasks etc. Gait is one of the commonly seen dynamic postures which can also be analysed to certain extent using Non-participation observation method. The determination to research the alignment of feet in human gait developed after noticing the prevalence of walking with Outward Deviation of Feet (ODF) among various individuals in public spaces. Methodology: Non-participant visual observation of the ODF was carried out in various public spaces like roads, railways stations, streets, fitness clubs etc. Additionally, the walking patterns of people of other countries were also searched in social media like YouTube. Both anterior view and posterior view of the gait of the individuals were observed and possible biomechanical interpretations were made for the development of new theories and research pathways. Results: Large number of children were found consistently aligning their feet straight except few sporadically. Walking with ODF was found frequent among many adolescents, middle age adults and older adults. Conclusion: Taking into account of the increased foot progression angle and narrowed step width, ODF should be viewed as a potential biomechanical problem that would probably be acquired from the adolescence (or even before the adolescence) as one of the earliest asymptomatic biomechanical dysfunctions of unhealthy ageing.