Now showing 1 - 10 of 23
  • Publication
    Investigating normal day to day variations in postural control in a healthy young population (age 18-40) using wii balance boards
    Objective me asurements of postural control are frequently used to examine the causes of, features associated with, and therapeutic interventions for ankle instability. However, researchers have typically used single-session measures to represent postural control at one point in time. Recent studies in a healthy elderly population demonstrate significant variations in day-to-day postural control and suggest that single-session measurement may not truly reflect postural control capabilities. An investigation into patterns of day-to-day variation in postural control in a younger population are warranted.
      317
  • Publication
    Focus collection on Modern Approaches for Sports Medicine and Performance
    In the 21st century there are more people than ever before participating in sports, with sport becoming a universal language to bring people together no matter what their background or origin. Sports medicine and performance provision in amateur- and elite-level sport have been growing over the past decade (Stuart et al 2018), due to the recognition of such provision in preventing and minimizing sports-related injuries, as well as enhancing techniques or performance. In order to maintain a winning edge, modern athletes, clinicians (i.e. doctors, physiotherapists, sports therapists/athletic trainers, etc) and performance-enhancement specialists (i.e. strength and conditioning coaches, etc) are keen to develop analytical parameters that can reduce the risk of injury, speed-up recovery times and improve all aspects of player performance (Baca and Schwartz 2016). Therefore, Physiological Measurement is pleased to present the Focus Collection entitled "Modern Approaches for Sports Medicine and Performance" (https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0967-3334/page/Focus_on_modern_approaches_for_sports_medicine_and_performance).
      249Scopus© Citations 1
  • Publication
    Validation of temporal gait metrics from three IMU locations to the gold standard force plate
    The purpose of this work is to compare temporal gait parameters from three different IMU locations to the gold standard force platform. 33 subjects (12 F, 21 M) performed twenty gait trials each while wearing inertial measurement units (IMUs) on the trunk, both shanks and both feet. Data was simultaneously collected from a laboratory embedded force plate. Step times were derived from the raw IMU data at the three IMU locations using methods that have been shown to be accurate. Step times from all locations were valid compared to the force plate. Foot IMU step time was the most accurate (Pearson = .991, CI width = 3.00e2), the trunk IMU was the next most accurate (Pearson = .974, CI width = 4.85e2) and shank step time was the least accurate (Pearson = .958, CI width = 6.80e2). All three sensing locations result in valid estimations of step time compared to the gold standard force plate. These results suggest that the foot location would be most appropriate for clinical applications where very precise temporal parameter detection is required.
      769Scopus© Citations 12
  • Publication
    It's Not as Simple as Just Looking at One Chart: A Qualitative Study Exploring Clinicians Opinions on Various Visualisation Strategies to Represent Longitudinal Actigraphy Data
    Background: Data derived from wearable activity trackers may provide important clinical insights into disease progression and response to intervention, but only if clinicians can interpret it in a meaningful manner. Longitudinal activity data can be visually presented in multiple ways, but research has failed to explore how clinicians interact with and interpret these visualisations. In response, this study developed a variety of visualisations to understand whether alternative data presentation strategies can provide clinicians with meaningful insights into patient’s physical activity patterns. Objective: To explore clinicians’ opinions on different visualisations of actigraphy data. Methods: Four visualisations (stacked bar chart, clustered bar chart, linear heatmap and radial heatmap) were created using Matplotlib and Seaborn Python libraries. A focus group was conducted with 14 clinicians across 2 hospitals. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Three major themes were identified: (1) the importance of context, (2) interpreting the visualisations and (3) applying visualisations to clinical practice. Although clinicians saw the potential value in the visualisations, they expressed a need for further contextual information to gain clinical benefits from them. Allied health professionals preferred more granular, temporal information compared to doctors. Specifically, physiotherapists favoured heatmaps, whereas the remaining members of the team favoured stacked bar charts. Overall, heatmaps were considered more difficult to interpret. Conclusion: The current lack of contextual data provided by wearables hampers their use in clinical practice. Clinicians favour data presented in a familiar format and yet desire multi-faceted filtering. Future research should implement user-centred design processes to identify ways in which all clinical needs can be met, potentially using an interactive system that caters for multiple levels of granularity. Irrespective of how data is displayed, unless clinicians can apply it in a manner that best supports their role, the potential of this data cannot be fully realised.
      17Scopus© Citations 6
  • Publication
    Investigating normal day to day variations of postural control in a healthy young population using Wii balance boards
    The quantification of postural control (PC) provides the opportunity to understand the function and integration of the sensorimotor subsystem. The increased availability of portable sensing technology, such as Wii Balance Boards (WBB), has afforded the capacity to capture data pertaining to motor function, outside of the laboratory and clinical setting. However, prior to its use in long-term monitoring, it is crucial to understand natural daily PC variation. Twenty-four young adults conducted repeated static PC assessments over 20 consecutive weekdays, using WBBs. 16/24 participants (eyes open) and 11/24 participants (eyes closed) exhibited statistically significant differences (p <0.05) between their initial ‘once-off’ measure and their daily measures of PC. This study showed that variations in PC exist in a healthy population, a once-off measure may not be representative of true performance and this inherent variation should be considered when implementing long-term monitoring protocols.
    Scopus© Citations 1  435
  • Publication
    Inertial Sensor Technology Can Capture Changes in Dynamic Balance Control during the Y Balance Test
    Introduction: The Y Balance Test (YBT) is one of the most commonly utilised clinical dynamicbalance assessments. Research has demonstrated the utility of the YBT in identifying balancedeficits in individuals following lower limb injury. However, quantifying dynamic balancebased on reach distances alone fails to provide potentially important information related tothe quality of movement control and choice of movement strategy during the reaching action.The addition of an inertial sensor to capture more detailed motion data may allow for the inexpensive,accessible quantification of dynamic balance control during the YBT reach excursions.As such, the aim of this study was to compare baseline and fatigued dynamic balancecontrol, using reach distances and 95EV (95% ellipsoid volume), and evaluate the ability of95EV to capture alterations in dynamic balance control, which are not detected by YBT reachdistances. Methods: As part of this descriptive laboratory study, 15 healthy participants completedrepeated YBTs at 20, 10, and 0 min prior to and following a modified 60-s Wingate testthat was used to introduce a short-term reduction in dynamic balance capability. Dynamicbalance was assessed using the standard normalised reach distance method, while dynamicbalance control during the reach attempts was simultaneously measured by means of the95EV derived from an inertial sensor, worn at the level of the 4th lumbar vertebra. Results:Intraclass correlation coefficients for the inertial sensor-derived measures ranged from 0.76to 0.92, demonstrating strong intrasession test-retest reliability. Statistically significant altera-tions (p < 0.05) in both reach distance and the inertial sensor-derived 95EV measure wereobserved immediately post-fatigue. However, reach distance deficits returned to baseline levelswithin 10 min, while 95EV remained significantly increased (p < 0.05) beyond 20 min forall 3 reach distances. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the ability of an inertial sensorderivedmeasure to quantify alterations in dynamic balance control, which are not capturedby traditional reach distances alone. This suggests that the addition of an inertial sensor tothe YBT may provide clinicians and researchers with an accessible means to capture subtlealterations in motor function in the clinical setting.
    Scopus© Citations 19  301
  • Publication
    Dynamic balance performance varies by position but not by age group in elite Rugby Union players a normative study
    This cohort study aimed to provide normative Y Balance Test scores for an elite Rugby Union population, while investigating the effect player age groups (senior/under-20), playing positions (forwards/backs) and anthropometrics (height and body mass) had on performance. Two-hundred and sixty-one elite male under-20 (n = 50) and senior (n = 211) players completed baseline Y Balance Test during the 2015/2016 season. One-way ANCOVA and post-hoc t-tests were used to investigate the effect playing position, player group, height and weight had on performance. The cohort was then stratified into groups (age group and/or playing position), and normative percentiles were presented. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in Y Balance Test performance between playing positions, when controlling for age group. This difference did not remain when controlling for player body mass. Post-hoc analysis demonstrated that backs had a longer normalised reach distance, with medium-large and small-medium effect sizes for the under-20 and senior cohorts respectively. The one-way ANCOVA analysis suggests that this difference is likely due to the larger differences in player body mass between forward and back playing positions. The normative values presented in this paper may be used by clinicians and researchers to aid injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies.
    Scopus© Citations 7  754
  • Publication
    Foot Angle and Loading Rate during Running Demonstrate a Nonlinear Relationship
    Vertical loading rates are typically found to be lower in forefoot compared to rearfoot strikers, promoting the idea that forefoot striking is desirable and may reduce running injury risk. However, prior work using linear models has shown that foot inclination angle (FIA) at initial contact is a poor predictor of vertical loading rate, suggesting a more complex association exists. Purpose: To determine if a nonlinear model superiorly describes the relationship between FIA and average vertical loading rate (AVLR). Secondary analyses assessed the influence of sex and sport on the association between FIA and AVLR.Methods: Whole body kinematics and vertical ground reaction forces were collected for 170 healthy National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes (97 males; 81 cross-country runners) during treadmill running at 2.68, 3.35, and 4.47 m·s−1. Foot inclination angle and AVLR were calculated for 15 strides and averaged across strides for each limb. Polynomial mixed effects models assessed linear and nonlinear trends in the relationship between FIA and AVLR across the entire sample and accounting for sex and sport participation. Results: Average vertical loading rate was lowest at the extremes of FIA (i.e., −15°, 20°), whereas greater AVLR were observed between 5° and 10°. The cubic model resulted in a significantly better fit than the linear model (P < 0.001). Average vertical loading rate was also more variable among FIA associated with rearfoot and midfoot strike than forefoot strike. Adding sex to the model did not influence model fit; though, controlling for sport minimally improved model fit. Conclusions: The relationship between FIA and AVLR is best represented by a cubic model. Consequently, FIA should be treated as a continuous variable. Reducing FIA into categories may misrepresent the relationship between FIA and other gait variables.
    Scopus© Citations 28  553
  • Publication
    Reliability, Validity and Utility of Inertial Sensor Systems for Postural Control Assessment in Sport Science and Medicine Applications: A Systematic Review
    Background Recent advances in mobile sensing and computing technology have provided a means to objectively and unobtrusively quantify postural control. This has resulted in the rapid development and evaluation of a series of wearable inertial sensor-based assessments. However, the validity, reliability and clinical utility of such systems is not fully understood. Objectives This systematic review aims to synthesise and evaluate studies that have investigated the ability of wearable inertial sensor systems to validly and reliably quantify postural control performance in sports science and medicine applications. Methods A systematic search strategy utilising the PRISMA guidelines was employed to identify eligible articles through ScienceDirect, Embase and PubMed databases. In total, 47 articles met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated and qualitatively synthesised under two main headings: measurement validity and measurement reliability. Furthermore, studies that investigated the utility of these systems in clinical populations were summarised and discussed. Results After duplicate removal, 4374 articles were identified with the search strategy, with 47 papers included in the final review. In total, 28 studies investigated validity in healthy populations, and 15 studies investigated validity in clinical populations; 13 investigated the measurement reliability of these sensor-based systems. Conclusions The application of wearable inertial sensors for sports science and medicine postural control applications is an evolving field. To date, research has primarily focused on evaluating the validity and reliability of a heterogeneous set of assessment protocols, in a laboratory environment. While researchers have begun to investigate their utility in clinical use cases such as concussion and musculoskeletal injury, most studies have leveraged small sample sizes, are of low quality and use a variety of descriptive variables, assessment protocols and sensor-mounting locations. Future research should evaluate the clinical utility of these systems in large high-quality prospective cohort studies to establish the role they may play in injury risk identification, diagnosis and management. This systematic review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews on 10 August 2018 (PROSPERO registration: CRD42018106363): https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=106363.
    Scopus© Citations 51  1366
  • Publication
    Concussion recovery evaluation using the inertial sensor instrumented Y Balance Test
    The current sports concussion assessment paradigm lacks reliability, has learning effects and is not sufficiently challenging for athletes. As a result, subtle deficits in sensorimotor function may be unidentified, increasing the risk of future injury. This study examined if the inertial-sensor instrumented Y Balance test could capture concussion induced alterations in dynamic movement control. A cohort of 226 elite Rugby Union, American Football and Ice Hockey athletes were evaluated using the inertial-sensor instrumented Y balance test. Dynamic balance performance was quantified using normalised reach distance, jerk magnitude root-Mean-Squared (Jerk Mag RMS) and gyroscope magnitude sample entropy (Gyro Mag SEn). Concussed athletes who consented to follow-up were evaluated 24 to 48-hours post-injury, and at the point of return to full contact training (RTP). Seventeen athletes sustained a concussion and consented to both the 24 to 48-hour and RTP follow-up testing. Twenty uninjured control athletes were re-tested 6-months following initial screening. Concussed athletes had reductions in normalised reach distance (Cohens D=0.66-1.16) and Jerk Mag (Cohens D=0.57-1.14) 24 to 48-hours post-injury, which returned to pre-injury levels by the point of RTP. There was no significant difference in performance between the baseline and 6-month follow-up in the 20 un-injured athletes (Cohens D=0.06-0.51). There was a statistically significant linear association between Jerk Mag RMS 24 to 48-hours post-injury and the natural log of RTP duration (R2= 0.27 to 0.33). These results indicate that concussed athletes possessed alterations in dynamic movement control 24 to 48-hours post-concussion, which typically returns to pre-injury levels by the point of RTP. Furthermore, evaluation of dynamic movement control 24 to 48 hours post injury may aid in the evaluation of recovery prognosis.
    Scopus© Citations 11  598