Influence of a Full-Body Compression Suit on Trunk Positioning and Knee Joint Mechanics During Lateral Movements.

Trunk positioning has been shown to be associated with knee joint loading during athletic tasks, especially changes of direction. The purpose of the present study was to test whether a full-body compression suit (FBCS) would improve trunk positioning and knee joint control during lateral movements. Twelve female athletes performed lateral reactive jumps (LRJ) and unanticipated cuttings with and without the customized FBCS, while 3D kinematics and kinetics were measured. FBCS did not influence trunk positioning during LRJ and led to increased trunk lateral lean during cuttings (P < .001). However, while wearing FBCS, knee joint abduction and internal rotation angles were reduced during LRJ (P < .001 and P = .013, respectively), whereas knee joint moments were comparable during cuttings. FBCS cannot support the trunk segment during unanticipated dynamic movements. But, increased trunk lateral lean during cutting maneuvers was not high enough to elicit increased knee joint moments. On the contrary, knee joint abduction and internal rotation were reduced during LRJ, speaking for a better knee joint alignment with FBCS. Athletes seeking to improve trunk positioning may not benefit from a FBCS.

Inertial sensor based and shoe size independent gait analysis including heel and toe clearance estimation.

Falls are a major cause for morbidity and mortality in the ageing society. Inertial sensor based gait assessment including the analysis of the heel and toe clearance can be an indicator for the risk of falling. This paper presents a method for calculating the continuous heel and toe clearance without the knowledge of the shoe dimensions as well as the foot angle in the sagittal plane. These gait parameters were validated using an optical motion capture system. 20 healthy subjects from 3 different age groups (young, mid age, old) performed gait trials with different stride lengths and stride velocities. We obtained low mean absolute errors, low standard deviations and high Pearson correlations (0.91-0.99) for all gait parameters. In summary, we implemented a viable algorithm for the calculation of the heel and toe clearance without knowing the shoe dimensions as well as the foot angle in sagittal plane. We conclude that the given method is applicable for a mobile and unobtrusive gait assessment for healthy subjects from all age classes.