The Effect of Uphill and Downhill Walking on Joint-Position Sense: A Study on Healthy Knees

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliamarta Bottoni ◽  
Dieter Heinrich ◽  
Philipp Kofler ◽  
Michael Hasler ◽  
Werner Nachbauer

Context:During sport activity, knee proprioception might worsen. This decrease in proprioceptive acuity negatively influences motor control and therefore may increase injury risk. Hiking is a common activity characterized by a higher-intensity-exercise phase during uphill walking and a lower-intensity-exercise phase during downhill walking. Pain and injuries are reported in hiking, especially during the downhill phase.Objective:To examine the effect of a hiking-fatigue protocol on joint-position sense.Design:Repeated measures.Setting:University research laboratory.Participants:24 nonprofessional sportswomen without knee injuries.Main Outcome Measures:Joint-position sense was tested at the beginning, after 30 min uphill walking, and after 30 min downhill walking on a treadmill (continuous protocol).Results:After downhill walking, joint-position sense was significantly worse than in the test at the beginning (P = .035, α = .05). After uphill walking, no differences were observed in comparison with the test at the beginning (P = .172, α = .05) or the test after downhill walking (P = .165, α = .05).Conclusion:Downhill walking causes impairment in knee-joint-position sense. Considering these results, injury-prevention protocols for hiking should focus on maintaining and improving knee proprioception during the descending phase.

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather D. Hartsell

Context:The effect of externally bracing chronically unstable ankles on joint position sense awareness has had limited study yet is clinically relevant.Objective:To determine active joint position sense awareness, effects of bracing, and differences between flexible and semirigid braces.Design:Between-ankle-group (chronic and healthy), repeated-measures, including brace condition for the joint position of 15° inversion from subtalar neutral.Setting:Research laboratory.Participants:24 subjects with healthy and 12 with chronically unstable ankles.Main Outcome Measures:Blindfolded subjects attempted to find a passively placedjoint position under conditions of unbraced, flexible, and semirigid braced. A 3-way repeated-measures ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test for significant interaction effects were conducted.Results:Significant main effects were observed for ankle status, brace, and gender, but no significant interaction effects.Conclusion:Chronically unstable ankles have greater error in joint position sense awareness. However, this deficit might be reduced by using an external semirigid brace.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Switlick ◽  
Thomas W. Kernozek ◽  
Stacey Meardon

Context:A relationship between altered postural control and injury has been reported in sports. Sensorimotor function serves a fundamental role in postural control and is not often studied in runners. Persons who sustain running injury may have altered sensorimotor function contributing to risk of injury or reinjury.Objectives:To determine if differences in knee and ankle proprioception or plantar sensation exist between injured and noninjured runners.Design:Retrospective case-control study.Setting:University campus.Participants:Twenty runners with a history of lower-extremity overuse injury and 20 noninjured runners were examined. Injured runners were subcategorized into 2 groups based on site of injury: foot/ankle and knee/hip.Main Outcome Measures:Active absolute joint-repositioning error of the ankle at 20° inversion and 10° eversion and the knee at 15° and 40° flexion was assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer. Vibratory threshold at the calcaneus, arch, and great toe was determined for each subject using a handheld electric sensory threshold instrument.Results:Runners in the injured-foot/ankle group had increased absolute error during ankle-eversion repositioning (6.55° ± 3.58°) compared with those in the noninjured (4.04° ± 1.78°, P = .01) and the hip/knee (3.63° ± 2.2°, P = .01) groups. Runners in the injured group, as a whole, had greater sensitivity in the arch of the plantar surface (2.94 ± 0.52 V) than noninjured runners (2.38 ± 0.53 V, P = .02).Conclusions:Differences in ankle-eversion proprioception between runners with a history of ankle and foot injuries and noninjured runners were observed. Runners with a history of injury also displayed an increased vibratory threshold in the arch region compared with noninjured runners. Poor ankle-joint-position sense and increased plantar sensitivity suggest altered sensorimotor function after injury. These factors may influence underlying postural control and contribute to altered loading responses commonly observed in injured runners.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Liu ◽  
Xue-Qiang Wang ◽  
Jie-Jiao Zheng ◽  
Yu-Jian Pan ◽  
Ying-Hui Hua ◽  
...  

Background. Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese medicine exercise used for improving neuromuscular function. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Tai Chi versus proprioception exercise program on neuromuscular function of the ankle in elderly people.Methods. Sixty elderly subjects were randomly allocated into three groups of 20 subjects per group. For 16 consecutive weeks, subjects participated in Tai Chi, proprioception exercise, or no structured exercise. Primary outcome measures included joint position sense and muscle strength of ankle. Subjects completed a satisfaction questionnaire upon study completion in Tai Chi and proprioception groups.Results. (1) Both Tai Chi group and proprioception exercise group were significantly better than control group in joint position sense of ankle, and there were no significant differences in joint position sense of ankle between TC group and PE group. (2) There were no significant differences in muscle strength of ankle among groups. (3) Subjects expressed more satisfaction with Tai Chi than with proprioception exercise program.Conclusions. None of the outcome measures on neuromuscular function at the ankle showed significant change posttraining in the two structured exercise groups. However, the subjects expressed more interest in and satisfaction with Tai Chi than proprioception exercise.


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly May Green ◽  
Paul Comfort ◽  
Lee Herrington

Context:A reduction in joint position sense (JPS) is sometimes a consequence of shoulder injury that may adversely affect the ability to maintain dynamic joint stability.Objective:To compare shoulder JPS between previously injured and noninjured judokas.Design:Cohort study.Participants:Twenty-nine noninjured subjects (10.93 ± 3.45 years) and eleven injured subjects (15.09 ± 3.39 years).Main Outcome Measures:JPS was tested at 45° and 80°of shoulder external rotation at 90° of abduction.Results:No signifcant difference in JPS was found between previously injured and noninjured judokas at either joint position.Conclusion:Despite evidence that JPS acuity decreases following shoulder injury, this study did not demonstrate a difference in average error between previously injured and noninjured judokas. Uncontrolled confounding factors, such as age and time since injury, may have affected the results. Sport-specifc shoulder joint loading patterns may also be an important factor that affects JPS.


2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 312-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Yun Chang ◽  
Chen-Sheng Chen ◽  
Shun-Hwa Wei ◽  
Chi-Huang Huang

Context:Fatigue of the shoulder rotator muscles may negatively affect joint position sense (JPS) and ultimately lead to injury.Objective:Recovery of shoulder JPS after muscle fatigue.Design:A repeated-measures study.Setting:Musculoskeletal research laboratory.Patients:Thirteen subjects participated in joint position error tests and isokinetic concentric strength assessment in shoulder rotation, before and after rotator muscle fatigue.Interventions:Local muscle fatigue was induced using isokinetic concentric contractions of the shoulder rotator muscles.Main Outcome Measurements:Shoulder rotator strength and JPS error signals were measured before fatigue, immediately after fatigue, and every ten minutes thereafter for one hour.Results:Before shoulder rotation muscle fatigue, the accuracy of shoulder JPS was 2.79 ± 1.67 degrees. After muscle fatigue, the accuracy decreased to 6.39 ± 2.90 degrees. Shoulder JPS was influenced up to 40 minutes after muscle fatigue, but shoulder strength was only affected for 10 minutes after muscle fatigue.Conclusions:Proprioceptive recovery was slower than strength following fatigue of the shoulder rotators.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Sutton ◽  
Marie Ohlsson ◽  
Ulrik Röijezon

Abstract Background: Assessment of shoulder proprioception outside the laboratory in the absence of specialized equipment remains a challenge with field-based tests often lacking good reliability, validity and feasibility. This study aimed to enhance the knowledge base surrounding the assessment of shoulder proprioception and investigated the effect of fatigue on shoulder joint position sense (JPS) amongst amateur male handball players.Method: 27 healthy recreationally active participants and 13 amateur male handball players undertook two sessions of active JPS tests using laser pen technology and a calibrated 2-dimensional target to assess test-retest reliability. The active JPS test was then utilized on the subgroup of handball players who were subjected to five bouts of a repeated throwing task in order to investigate the effect of local fatigue on shoulder JPS. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient for the active JPS test was 0.78 (95% CI = [0.57; 0.89]). Standard error of measurement between trials was 0.70° (range 0.57°-0.90°). For the throwing task, repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction for arm x bout (F5=2.74, p=0.028) and a significant effect for arm (F1=5.85, p=0.034). Post hoc analysis showed a significant difference between throwing arm and non-throwing arm after throwing bout one (p=0.036), three (p=0.026) and four (p=0.041). Conclusion: Assessment of the active JPS test showed acceptable reliability and measurement error. Repeated throwing to fatigue decreased shoulder JPS in amateur male handball players which indicate validity of the test to identify reduced proprioception.


2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery L. Huston ◽  
Michelle A. Sandrey ◽  
Mathew W. Lively ◽  
Kevin Kotsko

Context:There is limited information on the effect of dynamic fatiguing of the plantar flexors on joint-position sense (JPS).Objective:To examine the effects of fatigue on JPS for ankle plantar flexion (PF) and dorsiflexion (DF).Design:A 2 × 2 factorial design.Setting:Research laboratory.Participants:20 healthy subjects (10 men, 10 women; age 21.75 ± 1.48 years).Interventions:The subjects were tested at 10° DF and 20° PF in the nonfatigued and fatigued conditions on a custom-built JPS device. To induce fatigue, subjects stood with both feet in the plantar-flexed position until they could no longer hold the posture.Main Outcome Measures:JPS absolute error was measured at 10° DF and 20° PF.Results:There was no significant main effect for condition, measurement, or interaction between condition and measurement.Conclusion:With no difference between conditions, the main controller of conscious JPS of the lower extremity might be the tibialis anterior.


2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice K. Loudon

Context:Proprioception of the knee joint.Objective:To determine the difference in knee-joint-angle reproduction in women with and without genu recurvatum (GR).Design:Between-subjects.Setting:Clinic.Subjects:Twenty-four women divided into 2 groups according to their standing knee-extension angle.Main Outcome Measures:Each subject's ability to actively reproduce active positioning of 3 knee angles (10, 30, and 60°) was measured. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to determine correlation values for standing GR angle and absolute angular error (AAE). A1 -way repeated-measures MANOVA was computed to evaluate differences in group, angle, limb, and trial.Results:Standing GR angle correlated significantly to the AAE angle at 10° (r= .48). The high-recurvatum group consistently scored worse, with the highest error rate occurring at 10°.Conclusion:Individuals with GR might have diminished proprioceptive sense at end-range extension that could potentially lead to knee injury.


1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan B. Andersen ◽  
Donna M. Terwilliger ◽  
Craig R. Denegar

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists in the reproducibility of knee joint flexion angles in an open versus a closed kinetic chain. Thirty generally healthy subjects (12 males, 18 females; mean age 23.8 years) participated. Subjects actively reproduced small, medium, and large knee flexion angles (with target angles of 15°, 45°, and 75°, respectively) in an open and a closed kinetic chain while being videotaped. Goniometric measurements were taken from the videotape of initial and reproduced joint angles. Data were analyzed using ANOVA with repeated measures on kinetic chain test position and joint angle. Subjects more accurately reproduced knee flexion angles in a closed kinetic chain position. The main effect for angle and the interaction of angle and test position were nonsignificant. The results indicate that knee joint position is more accurately reproduced in closed kinetic chain. Closed kinetic chain testing is also a more functional assessment of joint position sense, and thus closed kinetic chain assessment of lower extremity joint position sense is recommended.


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