Influence of foot-stretcher height on rowing technique and performance.

Strength, technique, and coordination are crucial to rowing performance, but external interventions such as foot-stretcher set-up can fine-tune technique and optimise power output. For the same resultant force, raising the height of foot-stretchers on a rowing ergometer theoretically alters the orientation of the resultant force vector in favour of the horizontal component. This study modified foot-stretcher heights and examined their instantaneous effect on foot forces and rowing technique. Ten male participants rowed at four foot-stretcher heights on an ergometer that measured handle force, stroke length, and vertical and horizontal foot forces. Rowers were instrumented with motion sensors to measure ankle, knee, hip, and lumbar-pelvic kinematics. Key resultant effects of increased foot-stretcher heights included progressive reductions in horizontal foot force, stroke length, and pelvis range of motion. Raising foot-stretcher height did not increase the horizontal component of foot force as previously speculated. The reduced ability to anteriorly rotate the pelvis at the front of the stroke may be a key obstacle in gaining benefits from raised foot-stretcher heights. This study shows that small changes in athlete set-up can influence ergometer rowing technique, and rowers must individually fine-tune their foot-stretcher height to optimise power transfer through the rowing stroke on an ergometer.

Orthotic Heel Wedges Do Not Alter Hindfoot Kinematics and Achilles Tendon Force During Level and Inclined Walking in Healthy Individuals.

Conservative treatments such as in-shoe orthotic heel wedges to treat musculoskeletal injuries are not new. However, weak evidence supporting their use in the management of Achilles tendonitis suggests the mechanism by which these heel wedges works remains poorly understood. It was the aim of this study to test the underlying hypothesis that heel wedges can reduce Achilles tendon load. A musculoskeletal modeling approach was used to quantify changes in lower limb mechanics when walking due to the introduction of 12-mm orthotic heel wedges. Nineteen healthy volunteers walked on an inclinable walkway while optical motion, force plate, and plantar pressure data were recorded. Walking with heel wedges increased ankle dorsiflexion moments and reduced plantar flexion moments; this resulted in increased peak ankle dorsiflexor muscle forces during early stance and reduced tibialis posterior and toe flexor muscle forces during late stance. Heel wedges did not reduce overall Achilles tendon force during any walking condition, but did redistribute load from the medial to lateral triceps surae during inclined walking. These results add to the body of clinical evidence confirming that heel wedges do not reduce Achilles tendon load and our findings provide an explanation as to why this may be the case.

Investigating the Effects of Knee Flexion during the Eccentric Heel-Drop Exercise.

This study aimed to characterise the biomechanics of the widely practiced eccentric heel-drop exercises used in the management of Achilles tendinosis. Specifically, the aim was to quantify changes in lower limb kinematics, muscle lengths and Achilles tendon force, when performing the exercise with a flexed knee instead of an extended knee. A musculoskeletal modelling approach was used to quantify any differences between these versions of the eccentric heel drop exercises used to treat Achilles tendinosis. 19 healthy volunteers provided a group from which optical motion, forceplate and plantar pressure data were recorded while performing both the extended and flexed knee eccentric heel-drop exercises over a wooden step when barefoot or wearing running shoes. This data was used as inputs into a scaled musculoskeletal model of the lower limb. Range of ankle motion was unaffected by knee flexion. However, knee flexion was found to significantly affect lower limb kinematics, inter-segmental loads and triceps muscle lengths. Peak Achilles load was not influenced despite significantly reduced peak ankle plantarflexion moments (p < 0.001). The combination of reduced triceps lengths and greater ankle dorsiflexion, coupled with reduced ankle plantarflexion moments were used to provide a basis for previously unexplained observations regarding the effect of knee flexion on the relative loading of the triceps muscles during the eccentric heel drop exercises. This finding questions the role of the flexed knee heel drop exercise when specifically treating Achilles tendinosis. Key pointsA more dorsiflexed ankle and a flexing knee are characteristics of performing the flexed knee heel-drop eccentric exercise.Peak ankle plantarflexion moments were reduced with knee flexion, but did not reduce peak Achilles tendon force.Kinematic changes at the knee and ankle affected the triceps muscle length and resulted in a reduction in the amount of Achilles tendon work performed.A version of the heel-drop exercise which reduces the muscle length change will also reduce the amount of tendon stretch, reducing the clinical efficacy of the exercise.

The sensitivity of a lower limb model to axial rotation offsets and muscle bounds at the knee.

Soft tissue artifacts during motion capture can lead to errors in kinematics and incorrect estimation of joint angles and segment motion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of shank segment axial rotation and knee rotator muscle bounds on predicted muscle and joint forces in a musculoskeletal model of the lower limb. A maximal height jump for ten subjects was analysed using the original motion data and then modified for different levels of internal and external rotation, and with the upper force bound doubled for five muscles. Both externally rotating the shank and doubling the muscle bounds increased the ability of the model to find a solution in regions of high loading. Muscle force levels in popliteus and tensor fascia latae showed statistically significant differences, but less so in plantaris, sartorius or gracilis. The shear and patellofemoral joint forces were found to be significantly affected by axial rotation during specific phases of the motion and were dependent on the amount of rotation. Fewer differences were observed when doubling the muscle bounds, except for the patellofemoral force and plantaris and sartorius muscle force, which were significantly increased in many of the jump phases. These results give an insight into the behaviour of the model and give an indication of the importance of accurate kinematics and subject-specific geometry.

Viscoelastic adaptation of tendon graft material to compression: biomechanical quantification of graft preconditioning.

PURPOSE: The tensile viscoelastic behaviour of tendon tissue is of central biomechanical importance and well examined. However, the viscoelastic tendon adaptation to external compression, such as when a tendon graft is fixated with an interference screw, has not been investigated before. Here, we quantify this adaptive behaviour in order to develop a new method to mechanically precondition tendon grafts and to better understand volumetric changes of tendinous tissue. The hypothesis of this study was that under compressive loads, tendon grafts will undergo a temporary volumetric (and therefore diametric) reduction, due to the extrusion of water from the tendon. METHODS: Compressive testing was performed on a material testing machine and load applied through the use of a custom-made mould, with a semi-circular cross section to accommodate the tendon graft. The effects of different compressive forces on the length, diameter and weight of tendon grafts were measured by calipers and a weighing scale, respectively. Further, different strain rates (1 vs. 10 mm/min) (n = 6, per rate), compression method (steady compression vs. creep) (n = 15 for each method) and different compression durations (1, 5, 10 min) (n = 5 for each duration) were tested to identify the most effective combination to reduce graft size by preserving its macroscopic structure. RESULTS: The effect of compression on volume reduction (75 % of initial volume and weight) reached a plateau at 6,000 N on an 8-mm tendon bundle. Length thereby increased by approximately 10 %. Both steady compression and creeping were able to reduce dimensions of the graft; however, creeping was more effective. There was no difference in effect with different durations for compression (p > 0.05) in both methods. CONCLUSION: The viscoelastic behaviour of hamstring tendon grafts under pressure allows preconditioning of the grafts for reduction of volume and diameter and therefore to drill a smaller bone tunnel, retaining more of the original bone. At the same time, the collagen content of the transplant is preserved and a tight fit of the transplant in the bone tunnel achieved.

Embossing of a screw thread and TCP granules enhances the fixation strength of compressed ACL grafts with interference screws.

PURPOSE: Fixation of soft tissue grafts with interference screws relies on the friction of the graft between the screw and the bone tunnel. The goal of this study was to precondition such grafts by mechanical compression in order to reduce anticipated and undesired viscoelastic adaptation of the graft to screw pressure. Further, the otherwise slippery graft surface was modified with impressed tricalcium phosphate granules (TCP) to improve friction and mechanical hold. METHODS: Fresh flexor digitorum tendons from young bovines were used to create bundles with a diameter of 8-9 mm and were divided into 10 groups to compare the pullout strength and bone damage in a variety of construct scenarios. Specifically, the effects of graft precompression to reduce preimplantation graft diameter were investigated. Further the effects of impressing TCP granules and/or a screw thread into the tendon surface during the compression process were studied. RESULTS: In sawbone tests, radial graft compression allowed for a smaller bone tunnel (7 mm), but resulted in a significantly lower pullout strength of 174 N (95% CI: 97, 250), compared with controls [315 N (204, 426)]. In contrast, TCP coated [402 N (243, 561)], screw embossed grafts [458 N (302, 614)], and the combination of TCP and embossing [409 N (274, 543)] achieved higher pullout strengths when compared to the standard technique. In porcine bone, untreated grafts using an 8 mm screw pulled out at 694 ± 93 N, significantly higher loads were required to pullout compressed grafts with or without TCP coating (870 ± 74 and 878 ± 131 N), yet fixed with a 7 mm screw. CONCLUSION: Modification of the tendon graft surface has a large influence on the biomechanical performance of interference screw fixation and results in less bone damage inflicted during insertion to a smaller tunnel diameter, while simultaneously achieving superior pullout strength.