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The purpose of this two-part study was to determine if lower extremity girth measurements are repeatable. Sixteen males and 14 females participated in the intra- and intertester reliability portion of this study. Girth was assessed at five different lower extremity sites by two physical therapists using a standard tape measure. Thirty measures (15 by each examiner) were collected on the subject's right leg, and a mean of the three measures was used in the analysis. The measurements were repeated 7 days later. It was found that by using a simple standardized procedure, girth measurements in the clinic can be highly repeatable in experienced clinicians. Part 2 of the study involved testing the right and left legs of 22 subjects to determine if girth of the right and left legs was similar. All subjects had their girth assessed at five sites on their right and left legs during one session. It was found that girth measures on the right and left lower extremities are comparable. In an acutely injured lower extremity, it might be assumed that the girth of both lower extremities is similar.

Running during sports and for physical activity often requires changes in velocity through acceleration and deceleration. While it is clear that lower extremity biomechanics vary during these accelerations and decelerations, the work requirements of the individual joints are not well understood. The purpose of this investigation was to measure the sagittal plane mechanical work of the individual lower extremity joints during acceleration, deceleration, and steady-state running. Ten runners were compared during acceleration, deceleration, and steady-state running using three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics measures. Total positive and negative joint work, and relative joint contributions to total work were compared between conditions. Total positive work progressively increased from deceleration to acceleration. This was due to greater ankle joint work during acceleration. While there was no significant change in total negative work during deceleration, there was a greater relative contribution of the knee to total negative work with a subsequent lower relative ankle negative work. Each lower extremity joint exhibits distinct functional roles in acceleration compared with deceleration during level running. Deceleration is dominated by greater contributions of the knee to negative work while acceleration is associated with a greater ankle contribution to positive work.

In order to accommodate patients to new foot orthoses over time, two steps are required: The first is to obtain a baseline reading of the immediate effects across several weeks to ensure consistency. The second step is to look at changes with progressively longer wear periods similar to what occurs in general practice. This study addressed the first step. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the baseline reading of the immediate effects of foot orthoses on comfort and lower extremity kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity is consistent between days. Participants were 21 recreational runners who volunteered for the study. Three orthotic conditions (posting, custom-molding, posting and custom-molding) were compared to a control (flat) insert. Lower extremity kinematic, kinetic, and EMG data were collected for 108 trials per participant and condition in 9 sessions for each person for running at 4 m/s. Comfort for all orthotic conditions was assessed in each session using a visual analog scale. Statistically significant session effects were detected using repeated-measures ANOVA (α = .05). Three of the 93 variables had a significant session effect. A significant interaction between orthotic condition and session was observed for 6 of the 93 variables. The results of this study showed that the effects of foot orthoses on comfort, lower extremity kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity are consistent across a 3-week period when the wear time for each condition is restricted. Thus, foot orthoses lead to immediate changes in comfort, kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity with limited use. These immediate effects of foot orthoses on comfort, kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity are consistent between days.

We previously reported that lower extremity muscular strength of older adults did not predict success of a balance recovery task. We propose that lower extremity coordination may limit performance independently of lower extremity strength. The present study was conducted to determine the extent to which knee extension strength and hip–knee coordination independently contribute to maximum vertical jump height. Maximum vertical jump height and isometric and isokinetic knee extension strength and power were determined in 13 young adults. Hip–knee coordination during the vertical jump was quantified using relative phase angles. Stepwise nonlinear multiple regression determined the variable set that best modeled the relationship between the dependent variable, maximum vertical jump height, and the independent variables of strength, power, and coordination. The quadratic terms of the normalized knee extension strength at 60 deg·s^–1, and the average relative phase during the propulsion phase of the vertical jump, collectively accounted for more than 80% of the shared variance (p = .001). The standardized regression coefficients of the two terms, .59 and .52, respectively (p = .004 and .008), indicated the independence and significance of the contributions of knee extension strength and hip–knee coordination to maximum vertical jump height. Despite the pitfalls of extrapolating these results to older adults performing a balance recovery task, the results are interpreted as supporting the contention that while muscle strength confers a number of functional benefits, the ability to avoid falling as a result of a trip is not necessarily ensured. Increased muscle strength per se can occur in the absence of improved kinematic coordination.

Context: Landing kinematics have been identified as a risk factor for knee injury. Detecting atypical kinematics in clinical settings is important for identifying individuals at risk for these injuries. Objective: To determine the reliability of a handheld tablet and application (app) for measuring lower-extremity kinematics during drop vertical-jump landings. Design: Measurement reliability. Setting: Laboratory. Participants: 23 healthy young adults with no lower-extremity injuries and no contraindications for jumping and landing. Intervention: Subjects performed 6 drop vertical jumps that were captured with an iPad2 and analyzed with a KinesioCapture app by 2 novice and 2 experienced raters. Three trials each were captured in the frontal and sagittal planes. Main Outcome Measures: Frontal-plane projection angles, knee flexion, and hip flexion at initial contact and maximum knee flexion were measured. ICC and SEM were calculated to determine intertrial and interrater reliability. One-way ANOVAs were used to examine differences between the measured angles of the raters. Results: Average intertrial reliability ranged from .71 to .98 for novice raters and .77 to .99 for experienced raters. SEMs were 2.3-4.3° for novice raters and 1.6-3.9° for experienced raters. Interrater ICC_2,1 was .39-.98 for the novice raters and .69-.93 for the experienced raters. SEMs were smallest with the experienced raters, all less than 1.5°. Conclusion: A handheld tablet and app is promising for evaluating landing kinematics and identifying individuals at risk for knee injury in a clinical setting. Intertrial reliability is good to excellent when using average trial measures. Interrater reliability is fair to excellent depending on experience level. Multiple trials should be assessed by a single rater when assessing lower-extremity mechanics with a handheld tablet and app, and results may vary with experience level or training.