Sarah Trager Ridge

Healthcare workers have a high risk of low back injuries. Patient handling tasks are a risk factor. Healthcare workers should not lift more than 35 pounds when handling patients. One method of reducing force is using friction-reducing draw sheets. Healthcare workers performed boosting tasks using three different draw sheets: cotton, Skil-Care, and AirPal®. Boosts were performed with each sheet, and motion and force data were processed using 3DSSPP for analysis. The air-assisted device yielded the lowest lower back and hand force than the other sheets. There was no significant difference between the cotton and Skil-Care. The air-assisted device was most effective at reducing low back forces. Air-assisted devices should be used for all patients rather than being limited to bariatrics. Even with these devices, the lifting limit of 35 pounds is regularly exceeded, but not nearly as much as with a cotton sheet.

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Background: Foot strike type affects running mechanics and may influence overuse injury occurrence. Measuring the interaction between cumulative load and foot strike type may provide additional information that could increase understanding of injury mechanisms. Hypothesis: There will be no differences in cumulative loading between runners using rearfoot strike (RFS) and nonrearfoot strike (NRFS) patterns. NRFS runners will have a greater stride rate. There will be differences in per stride metrics of select lower extremity mechanics. Study Design: Observational laboratory study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Thirty male participants (age, 22.7 ± 2.9 years; height, 1.79 ± 0.07 m; mass, 70.7 ± 7.86 kg; mean ± SD) ran on an instrumented treadmill for 5 km at 3.15 m/s with their preferred foot strike type (14 RFS, 16 NRFS). Stride rate, foot strike angle, loading rate (LR), per stride and per kilometer (cumulative) vertical ground-reaction force (VGRF) impulse, impact peak, absolute peak, knee negative work, and ankle negative work were calculated and compared across time and between groups. Results: Per stride differences were seen for stance time, foot strike angle, and LR (greater for RFS runners, P = 0.003). Per stride and cumulative ankle and knee negative work showed significant differences (greater ankle negative work for NRFS runners, P < 0.001 [per stride and cumulative], greater knee negative work for RFS runners, P = 0.01 per stride, P = 0.008 cumulative). Conclusion: Ankle and knee loading metrics showed differences in per stride and cumulative metrics between foot strike groups. Individual variability in VGRF loading patterns was more apparent than group distinctions. The common perception that NRFS runners have a higher stride rate was not supported. Clinical Relevance: Individual loading patterns, not just foot strike type, and training session characteristics related to cumulative load should be considered when assessing injury risk.

Objectives: The ability to control landings and stabilize quickly is essential in sports like gymnastics and cheerleading, where landing quality impacts scores. The similarities and contrasts between these sports, where one trains primarily barefoot and the other shod, may increase understanding of the kinetic role of the foot during landings. Design: Sixteen gymnasts (GYM), sixteen cheerleaders (CHR), and sixteen non-athletes (NAT) performed single-foot shod and barefoot drop landings onto a force plate. Method: Foot muscle strength was assessed using a custom test and ultrasound imaging was used to measure six foot muscles. Group differences in muscle sizes and strength measurements were compared using one-way ANOVAs (α = 0.05). Landing mechanics metrics were evaluated using 3 x 2 between-within ANOVAs (α = 0.05). Pairwise comparisons were made using Tukey post-hoc tests. Results: Barefoot landings resulted in greater peak vertical ground reaction force (pVGRF) and lower time to pVGRF (TTpVGRF). Significant group main effect differences were found between GYM and NAT for all kinetic measures (GYM: shorter time to stability (TTS) and TTpVGRF, and greater pVGRF), while no significant differences in landing kinetics were found between CHR and either GYM or NAT. No interactions were found between group and condition. GYM and CHR had significantly greater summed foot muscle size than NAT, however, only CHR displayed significantly greater toe flexion force than NAT. Conclusions: Our data suggests that while wearing shoes does not affect groups differently, footwear reduces initial peak VGRFs but does not influence later stabilization times.

This study investigated the local, remote, and contralateral effects of a four-week intrinsic foot muscle exercise intervention in recreationally active participants on foot parameters, flexibility, and performance of the posterior chain (PC). Twenty-eight healthy participants (12f, 16m) were randomly assigned to a control group or performed 2 × 6 min of foot exercises twice daily unilaterally at least five days/week for four weeks. At baseline (M1), after the intervention (M2), and after a four-week wash-out period (M3), we assessed bilateral Foot Posture Index-6, medial longitudinal arch mobility, single-leg stance balance, range of motion (ROM) (first metatarsophalangeal joint and ankle), and flexibility and performance of the PC. The FPI-6 score changes over time differed significantly between groups for both legs, improving by 26% in the trained- (p < .001) and 11% in the untrained leg (p = .02) in the intervention group from M1 to M2. Improvements were maintained at M3 for the trained leg (p = .02). Ankle range of motion and balance of the trained leg improved from M1 to M2, yet only became significant at M3 (ROM: p = .02; balance: p = .007). The other parameters did not change significantly. A four-week foot exercise intervention might have local but no remote effects in healthy young adults.German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS00027923) (24/08/2022).

Successful performance of difficult, multi-revolution jumps is a critical aspect of singles and pairs figure skating. Key determinants of quality jumps include jump height, angular momentum at takeoff (L_Body_TO) and total body moment of inertia (I_Body). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of weighted gloves on L_Body_TO of figure skating jumps. Kinematic data was collected from thirteen skaters during on-ice testing sessions conducted before and after one week of training with weighted gloves. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare metrics from jumps performed pre-training without weights (PreNW), post-training without weights (PostNW) and post-training with weights (PostW). No significant differences were found between kinematics in PreNW and PostNW. Skaters did not pull their arms in as tightly while wearing the weighted gloves (distance from the wrists to the axis of rotation were 13.6% and 12.1% greater in PostW than PreNW and PreW, respectively). A post hoc simulation showed that the added mass affected I_Body in the air. While theoretical evidence supports the use of weighted gloves in figure skating jumps, compensations negated their effectiveness in jumps the skaters could already perform well. Optimal implementation may be when skaters are learning new jumps.

Healthcare workers have a high rate of low back injury due to patient handling tasks. These workers receive training in patient handling methods such as adjusting bed height, but often ignore them. In this study, 35 healthcare workers completed patient boosts at a self-chosen bed height and again with the bed in a higher standardized position. Motion capture and force data were collected for analysis. Given the choice, less than half of participants adjusted the bed at all and none of them moved the bed to the highest position (99.1 cm). The self-chosen bed position yielded significantly higher low back force than the higher position at L4-L5 and L5-S1 (p=.02, p=.01 respectively). Low back forces can be reduced by raising the bed prior to engaging in patient handling tasks. which is a simple step that can reduce forces placed on healthcare workers’ low backs. Practitioner Summary Healthcare workers experience high rates of low back pain secondary to patient handling tasks. In this cross-sectional crossover study, healthcare workers consistently chose a low bed height when boosting a patient, which resulted in higher low back loads compared to the highest bed height.