Health
- Modelling and simulation of falls
- Investigator
- A/Prof. Rod Barrett
- Email address
- r.barrett@griffith.edu.au
Falls are a major cause of death and morbidity in the elderly, with tripping during walking being responsible for the majority of falls. The aim of this research is to:
- develop a muscle-driven forward dynamics simulation model of trip recovery, and
- conduct simulations to examine the influence of muscular and neural factors on the ability to recover from a trip-related fall.
- Novel methods for determining muscle properties and muscle-tendon interaction
- Investigator
- Dr Glen Lichtwark
- Email address
- g.lichtwark@griffith.edu.au
The difficulty in quantifying the role of muscle-tendon elasticity during movement is in measuring where length changes occur in response to force production. Recently, ultrasound has been used to estimate muscle fascicle and tendon strains. To date, however, very little research has successfully quantified the contribution of other structures such as muscle fascia and aponeurosis. To solve this problem, we plan to use PC based ultrasound and dynamometry to assess muscle architecture and material properties of muscle. Central to these methods is the development of a system which can track three-dimensional length and shape changes of muscle. This will be achieved by tracking the position of the ultrasound probe in 3D space using motion analysis, inertial sensors or magnetic tracking methods. This will allow us to determine length changes of the different structures in the muscle. An example is the reconstructed longitudinal image of the human gastrocnemius muscle shown in the Figure on the right. This image shows the muscle length, fascicle lengths, tendon lengths and muscle shape along the length of the leg. This will allow us to quantify the compliance of different structures in muscles with different functions and better understand muscle development.
- Why run when you can walk? Does changing between walking and running improve muscle efficiency?
- Investigator
- Dr Glen Lichtwark
- Email address
- g.lichtwark@griffith.edu.au
When we are required to increase our speed of locomotion, there is a point where we choose to change from a walking gait to a running gait. It is, however, possible to walk faster than the speed at which we commonly make this transition and also to run at speeds slower than this transition speed. So why do we choose to change from walking to running at a given speed? In this study, we wish to examine the efficiency of the calf muscles during walking and running at speeds which go beyond the common transition speed. From this we hope to determine whether elastic strain energy stored in the Achilles tendon can makes one gait pattern more efficient than the other at certain speeds.
- Tennis elbow
- Investigator
- Ms Leanne Bisset
- Email address
- l.bisset@griffith.edu.au
Lateral epicondylalgia is a common musculoskeletal condition of the elbow which greatly affects the daily lives of sufferers due to muscular pain and weakness. The duration of LE can be up to 48 months, even with treatment. The aetiology of LE is well theorised but not well understood, which is reflected by the multiple methods of clinical treatments currently in use. It is widely accepted that micro-ruptures in the forearm extensors due to overuse are involved in the pathogenesis of LE. However recent research suggests a neurophysiological component, as evidenced by sensorimotor deficits at the elbow and remote locations of the upper limb. The purpose of this project is to assess sensorimotor abilities at the glenohumeral joint in participants with unilateral LE. The data from this project may provide information about the compensations the upper limb makes to ease the load at the elbow. This data may aid in the development of efficacious treatment approaches which will improve the prognosis for people with LE.
- Bone loading
- Investigator
- Mr Benjamin Weeks
- Email address
- b.weeks@griffith.edu.au
Bone response to mechanical stimuli depends on a number of factors including impact magnitude, rate of force application, and frequency of loading. Those activities that subject the skeleton to large magnitude forces applied at high loading rates tend to be most efficacious. Directly measured in vivo human bone strain data for different activities are scarce due to the highly invasive nature of the procedure. Ground reaction forces measured on a force platform, however, can provide estimates of these stimuli and the procedure is non-invasive. We are currently investigating the GRFs associated with common sports and generic impact activities with a view of improving the effectiveness of exercise prescriptions for maximising bone health.
Sport
- Golf swing mechanics
- Investigator
- Mr Sean Horan
- Email address
- s.horan@griffith.edu.au
Although golf is generally thought of as a fairly benign activity, injury rates among professional and amateur golfers are quite high. Interestingly, there is evidence that gender-related differences influence the occurrence and site of injury, with male golfers being more prone to low back injuries while females are more prone to injuries of the wrist and elbow. Two factors are frequently suggested to contribute to injury include overuse and poor swing mechanics. Although swing kinematics of male professional and amateur golfers have been well documented, female golfers have received far less attention. It is anticipated that that identifying gender-related differences in swing kinematics and physiological profiles will provide insight into mechanisms of injury in elite golfers. Such information will assist coaches in developing gender specific swing profiles and training programs.
- Tennis swing monitoring
- Investigator
- Amin Ahmadi
The focus of this research is to develop remote sensing technology to monitor tennis swing movement characteristics. The proposed system for remote sensing is based on a generic platform data acquisition developed at Griffith University. The platform features real-time wireless data transmission from miniaturised sensors that can be attached to a racquet, bat, golf club, etc as well as the athlete. As part of the project, we intend to extend and further develop the platform to allow synchronous acquisition of 3D acceleration data from multiple sensor nodes attached on the swing object (bat, racquet, club) and limb segments, to optimise the real-time data collection, and more importantly analyse and interpret the digital signals in such a manner that is understandable to coaches and athletes. Tennis will be primary activity of interest, although this research has the potential to be applied to many sports to provide athletes with feedback in real-time to improve their swing movements.