editorial biomechanics - hindawi publishing...

Hindawi Publishing CorporationBioMed Research InternationalVolume 2013, Article ID 271543, 2 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/271543

EditorialBiomechanics

José M. Vilar,1 Francisco Miró,2 Miguel A. Rivero,1 and Giuseppe Spinella3

1 Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Trasmontana S/N,Arucas, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain

2Department of Compared Anatomy and Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Cordoba, Campus de Rabanales,Carretera Madrid-Cadiz Km 396 A, 14071 Cordoba, Spain

3 Department of Health Sciences, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Germaneto, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy

Correspondence should be addressed to Jose M. Vilar; [email protected]

Received 18 July 2013; Accepted 18 July 2013

Copyright © 2013 Jose M. Vilar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Gait evaluation (GA) (kinetic and kinematics) has beengenerally performed by biomechanics analysis that gatherdifferent techniques involved in clinical/experimental humanand veterinary studies. Several disciplines in medicine haveinvolved the biomechanics studies for clinical and reha-bilitative purposes. In sports, the biomechanics researchaimed in ability to establish an understanding of causalmechanisms of movements and how they should bemodifiedin order to achieve better performance. In sports, the role ofbiomechanics can be categorised into two broad areas: (a)improvement of athletic performance and (b) reducing theinjury probability. Recently, the sport biomechanical researchhas been applied in athletes with a disability, aiming tofacilitate improvements in Paralympics athletic performancethrough applied research and consultancy. In veterinary sci-ences, the studies are undertaken to characterize and establishthe kinematic standards of racing dogs and horses, mainly.Biomechanical study for collecting data of the animal’slocomotion has been conducted using different techniques.Some of them, such as skin markers and treadmills, rou-tinely assess the performance status of the animal, but mostfrequent and minimally invasive methods are videographicand accelerometric techniques. Moreover, gait analysis hasbeen increasingly used in clinical studies to objectivelyevaluate outcome of medical or surgical treatments in severalorthopedic diseases. As other techniques, both kinematicand kinetic gait analyses are extensively used in dogs, dueto the usefulness to perform these techniques on animalmodels in order to extrapolate results for humans. Gaitanalysis has been involved in pain control of inflammatory

status. Force platform has been consistently used as anaccurate, objective method to document the efficacy ofanti-inflammatory medications such as for the treatment ofosteoarthritis (OA). Kinetic analysis of treated subjects isusually performed mounting a force plate in the groundwhere a dedicated software acquires ground reaction forces(GRF) values in real time. More recently, pressure platformsare being included in GA, since these devices are capable ofacquiring pressure distribution data within the limb. Param-eters usually acquired are peak vertical forces (PVF) andvertical and horizontal impulses. Moreover, the introductionof inverse dynamics to GA allowed to add new parameters,such as angle, moment, power, and total support moment(TSM), useful for evaluating the joint motion. Moreover,mesenchymal stem cells are gaining an important part inthe therapeutic arsenal of multiple pathologies. Locomotorsystem, especially in degenerative joint diseases, target oneof their main indications. Biomechanic gait analysis is beingprogressively incorporated as a tool to evaluate its efficacy,alone or associated with rich platelet plasma (RPP). Surgicalrecovery has been consistently evaluated by biomechanicdevices in human and veterinary medicine. Cranial cruciateligament rupture (CCLR) is one of the most important jointdiseases both in humans and dogs, based on its prevalenceand amount of proposed techniques. Kinematics has alsocontributed to deep in the knowledge of CCLR joint dynam-ics, contributing to better understand how CCLR can affectfunctionality of coxofemoral and tarsal joints, as well as thetibiofemoral joint.This alteration in both hip and tarsal jointscould be attributed to specific compensatory modifications.

2 BioMed Research International

Moreover, hip joint is mostly involved joint in differentpathological conditions, due to its anatomic and functionalcomplexity. Coxarthrosis affects both young and ancientsubjects, although it is almost directly related to age (70%beyond 65 years). A similar involvement also can be observedin small animals. Multifactorial etiology often occurs, butdysplasia is recognized as one of the most important becauseit causes joint instability, in human and canine species.

Lastly, physical therapy has been widely recognised assupporting activity in human beings to return to normalor preinjury function and to prevent age-related deterio-ration. Electromyographic analysis supplies information onthe integral function of the motor system. Kinesiologicalelectromyography can be described as being the study ofthe neuromuscular activation of muscles within posturaltasks, functional movements, work conditions, and treat-ment/training regimes. Kinesiological EMG can be carriedout either by means of surface electrodes or by needle elec-trodes. Surface electrodes are fixed over the skin of specificmuscles, and surface electromyography (sEMG) recordingsare the amount of signals from the target muscle and nearbyones. sEMG could be useful in giving valuable information inlocomotion of humans and in different domestic quadrupedssuch as equines, dogs and cats. Moreover, for humans and,also, for dogs, andhorses, treadmill is themost popular fitnessand training equipment. Several electromyographic studies inpets have focused on the analysis of muscle activities relatedto vertebral column and hindlimb movements. The epaxialmuscles are assumed to be the primary force for vertebralcolumn movements, extending the back and counteractingthe sagittal rebound of the trunk during trotting. To preventmuscle injuries, it is essential to know physiological muscularactivity during training or treatment regimes, as well astheir changes due to muscular fatigue. Fatigue is the failureto maintain the required or expected force from a musclefollowing a constant or repeated activity. As it has been statedfor human beings, running over inclines or declines can altermuscle function for animals. For quadrupeds, uphill anddownhill walking involves postural adjustments of the head,trunk, and limbs. A wide number of rehabilitation exercisesare focused on rehabilitation programmes for the spineand the hip joint. Some authors have carried out analysesof electromyographic muscle activity during rehabilitationexercises from these programmes. Isometric and dynamicstrengthening exercises are commonly recommended fortrunk muscle rehabilitation. Comfort et al. (2011) comparedthe electromyographic activity of the trunk muscles duringboth types of exercises. Compared with studies in humans,fewer electromyographic analyses during commonly pre-scribed therapeutic exercises are available in animals. Inhorses, the back movements both at walk and at trot havebeenmeasured to provide information about the stabilisationforces of the spinal column.

In conclusion, biomechanical evaluation and GA in gen-eral will be the cornerstone of scientific success for objective,reliable, and easy tool for clinicians, researchers, and sportfield and rehabilitation therapists. Further researches, whilecontinuing to investigate movement in the previously desig-nated categories, must also show how changes in technique

and/or equipment design improve performance or health.In this sense, virtual simulation softwares, using a validatedcomputer model, will be able to carry out “experiments”under controlled conditions, with realistic data.

Jose M. VilarFrancisco Miro

Miguel A. RiveroGiuseppe Spinella

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