Live Updates from i-FAB

Invasive in Vitro description of the effect of foot orthoses on foot kinematics - Nester:

Bone pin live model study in Sweden again.
Makes Bruce wonder if the willingness of Swedes to have pins drilled into their feet and legs gives a reason for why Tiger Woods wife stuck(pun intended) with him for so long. ;-)
Seriously, the study showed an increase in ankle joint ROM vs STJ ROM in anti-pronation devices
Also shows an increase in ROM of STJ vs AJ ROM with laterally posted devices.
Opposite RF and AJ effects with different devices but similar midfoot respons between the devices.
Very well done to the "sticker of Salford" Chris Nester!
Cheers
Bruce

 

Distribution of intrinsic foot muscles in healthy and plantar fascitis:
Plantar intrinsic foot muscles are significant in volume.
The FF muscles have more volume than the RF muscles
There was some Atrophy of FF muscles with chronic fasciitis
1st MPJ muscle atrophy may be related to loss of arch height
Yes its been a long day
Bruce

 

I-FAB business meeting

Check out I-FAB moodle At the I-FAB website and list your reseRch projects and your interest groups
This should help all with data sharing etc.
A great idea!

Member specific literature searching
List of recently added projects too

Cheers
Bruce

 

Good job, Bruce! Thanks for all the updates on the lectures I missed.:drinks

 

Here is an addendum to what I wrote yesterday about the lecture given by Ton van den Bogert. I sat down with Ahmet Erdemir who gave the workshop on finite element modeling (FEM) on Thursday AM (Ahmet was the "expert" on FEM at the meeting). Ahmet told me that the benefit of using FEM in conjunction with the forward dynamics model was not so much to make the FEM dynamic, but rather by coupling the FEM to the forward dynamics model of the body allowed coupling of the results of any abnormal tissue stresses detected within the foot to the movement pattern of locomotion that the computer model would choose to "walk in" once confronted by this pain stimulus from the abnormal tissue stresses.

For example, the FEM model could be set up to "send a pain signal" to the forward dynamics model it is attached to so that the forward dynamics model would find a way to perform the movement task assigned to it (e.g. walking) without overstressing the tissue that has "pain" in it. In other words, the model could be set up to walk with a limp to avoid pain due to abnormal tissue stresses. In this way, we could gain more clear insight into how the central nervous system sets gait optimization strategies when confronted with painful afferent stimuli from the feet or the rest of the lower extremity.

Here is the article from Podiatry Today on Emerging Concepts in Podiatric Biomechanics that I wrote last four years ago where I used a photo from some of Ahmet's FEM work on modeling plantar pressures in the foot.

Very cool stuff.

 

My pleasure and I'm sure Craig will have extra updates by tomorrow!
Cheers!
Bruce