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Biomedical subjects

L Oddsson

Publications and source records attributed to L Oddsson.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Postural control during lifting.

Any voluntary motion of the body causes an internal perturbation of balance. Load transfer during manual material handling may increase these perturbations. This study investigates effects of stance condition on postural control during lifting. Nineteen healthy subjects repeatedly lifted and lowered a load between a desk and a shelf. The base of support was varied between parallel and step stance. Ground reaction force and segmental kinematics were measured. Load transfer during lifting perturbed balance. In parallel stance postural response consisted of axial movements in the sagittal plane. Such strategy was accompanied by increased posterior shear forces after lift-off. Lifting in step stance provided extended support in anterior/posterior direction. The postural control mechanisms in the sagittal plane are less complex as compared to parallel stance. However, lifting in step stance was asymmetrical and thus accompanied by distinct lateral transfer of the body. Lateral shear forces were larger as compared to parallel stance. Both lifting techniques exhibit positive and negative aspects. We cannot recommend either one as being better in terms of postural control.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The effects of stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation on human postural sway.

Galvanic vestibular stimulation serves to modulate the continuous firing level of the peripheral vestibular afferents. It has been shown that the application of sinusoidally varying, bipolar galvanic currents to the vestibular system can lead to sinusoidally varying postural sway. Our objective was to test the hypothesis that stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation can lead to coherent stochastic postural sway. Bipolar binaural stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation was applied to nine healthy young subjects. Three different stochastic vestibular stimulation signals, each with a different frequency content (0-1 Hz, 1-2 Hz, and 0-2 Hz), were used. The stimulation level (range 0.4-1.5 mA, peak to peak) was determined on an individual basis. Twenty 60-s trials were conducted on each subject - 15 stimulation trials (5 trials with each stimulation signal) and 5 control (no stimulation) trials. During the trials, subjects stood in a relaxed, upright position with their head facing forward. Postural sway was evaluated by using a force platform to measure the displacements of the center of pressure (COP) under each subject's feet. Cross-spectral measures were used to quantify the relationship between the applied stimulus and the resulting COP time series. We found significant coherency between the stochastic vestibular stimulation signal and the resulting mediolateral COP time series in the majority of trials in 8 of the 9 subjects tested. The coherency results for each stimulation signal were reproducible from trial to trial, and the highest degree of coherency was found for the 1- to 2-Hz stochastic vestibular stimulation signal. In general, for the nine subjects tested, we did not find consistent significant coherency between the stochastic vestibular stimulation signals and the anteroposterior COP time series. This work demonstrates that, in subjects who are facing forward, bipolar binaural stochastic galvanic stimulation of the vestibular system leads to coherent stochastic mediolateral postural sway, but it does not lead to coherent stochastic anteroposterior postural sway. Our finding that the coherency was highest for the 1- to 2-Hz stochastic vestibular stimulation signal may be due to the intrinsic dynamics of the quasi-static postural control system. In particular, it may result from the effects of the vestibular stimulus simply being superimposed upon the quiet-standing COP displacements. By utilizing stochastic stimulation signals, we ensured that the subjects could not predict a change in the vestibular stimulus. Thus, our findings indicate that subjects can act as "responders" to galvanic vestibular stimulation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The role of the psoas and iliacus muscles for stability and movement of the lumbar spine, pelvis and hip.

The activation patterns of the psoas and iliacus muscles were investigated in 7 healthy adult subjects (4 men and 3 women) during a variety of motor tasks in standing, sitting and lying. Myoelectric activity was recorded simultaneously from the 2 muscles using thin wire electrodes inserted under guidance of high-resolution ultrasound. In general, both muscles were coactivated, albeit to different relative levels, particularly when hip flexor torque was required. Selective activation of the iliacus could, however, be seen to stabilize the pelvis in contralateral hip extension during standing. Psoas was found to be selectively involved in sitting with a straight back and in contralateral loading situations requiring stabilization of the spine in the frontal plane. During training exercises from a supine position, such as sit-ups, the contribution of the psoas and iliacus muscles could be varied by changing the range of motion as well as the position and support for the legs. Thus, the 2 anatomically different muscles of the iliopsoas complex were shown to have individual and task-specific activation patterns depending on the particular demands for stability and movement at the lumbar spine, pelvis and hip.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Different strategies to compensate for the effects of fatigue revealed by neuromuscular adaptation processes in humans.

An initially submaximal hopping task was maintained with the same global power output until it became the maximal performance; since there was no decrease in performance, any change in behavior occurring with fatigue characterizes the strategies allowing to compensate for the effects of fatigue. In a prolonged hopping task, fatigue is likely to be most prominent in the ankle extensor muscles since they are the main contributors to vertical propulsion in the hop. With fatigue, all subjects landed with more flexed knees and with an increased activity in the biarticular rectus femoris muscle indicating some compensation between the knee and ankle joint. Furthermore, two different strategies appeared to further compensate for the important fatigue of the ankle extensor muscles: one was organized across joints and consisted in a heavier reliance of the knee extensor vastus lateralis, and the other was organized within the fatigued joint and consisted in an earlier preactivation of the gastrocnemius. As a consequence, two different adaptations of the ground reaction force profiles appeared at the end of the session; each being related to one of these two strategies.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1994

The influence of sudden perturbations on trunk muscle activity and intra-abdominal pressure while standing.

Unexpected ventral and dorsal perturbations and expected, self-induced ventral perturbations were delivered to the trunk by suddenly loading a vest strapped to the torso. Six male subjects were measured for intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and intra-muscular electromyography of the transversus abdominis (TrA), obliquus internus abdominis (OI), obliquus externus abdominis (OE) and rectus abdominis (RA) muscles. Erector spinae (ES) activity was recorded using surface electromyography. Displacements of the trunk and head were registered using a video-based system. Unexpected ventral loading produced activity in TrA, OI, OE and RA, and an IAP increase well in advance of activity from ES. Expected ventral loading produced pre-activation of all muscles and an increased IAP prior to the perturbation. The TrA was always the first muscle active in both the unexpected and self-loading conditions. Of the two ventral loading conditions, forward displacement of the trunk was significantly reduced during the self-loading. Unexpected dorsal loading produced coincident activation of TrA, OI, OE, RA and ES. These results indicate a response of the trunk muscles to sudden expected and unexpected ventral loadings other than the anticipated immediate extensor torque production through ES activation. It is suggested that the increase in IAP is a mechanism designed to improve the stability of the trunk through a stiffening of the whole segment.

Abdominal Muscles↗
PubMed1990

Task specificity in the control of intrinsic trunk muscles in man.

The human trunk is a complex mechanical system comprised of large and small segments interconnected with several layers of muscles. An accurate control of this system is important during a variety of everyday tasks such as voluntary movements of the trunk, walking and running. This study was designed to investigate the interaction between muscles controlling the pelvis and the trunk during a variety of movements requiring a finely tuned coordination. Four subjects carried out seven different forms of fast oscillatory movements of the pelvis and trunk in the sagittal and transverse planes. Electromyographical activity (EMG) was recorded with surface electrodes from the abdominal muscles rectus abdominis (RA), obliquus externus (OE), obliquus internus (OI), and erector spinae (ES), from the hip flexor muscle rectus femoris (RF), the hip extensor muscle gluteus maximus (GM) and from the hip extensor/knee flexor muscles of the hamstrings group (HAM). Movements were recorded with an optoelectronic system (Selspot). The results indicate that during spontaneous flexion-extension movements of the trunk there was a basic alternating activation between a pure flexor (RF-RA-OE-OI) and an extensor synergy (ES-GM-HAM). Different mixed synergies appeared when more specific patterns of coordination of the pelvis and spine were performed. For example, during pelvic tilts in the sagittal plane, RA-OE-OI-GM formed a synergy which was activated reciprocally with ES. The neural circuitry controlling muscles of the pelvis and trunk is apparently adaptable to a variety of different tasks. Individual muscles were shown to either cause, brake or prevent a movement and to be integrated in several different task-specific motor synergies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abdomen↗
PubMed1989

Motor patterns of a fast voluntary postural task in man: trunk extension in standing.

The co-ordination between muscles controlling the primary movement and associated postural adjustments during fast trunk extension movements was studied in six male subjects. Myoelectrical activity (EMG) was recorded from antagonistic muscle pairs at the trunk, hip, knee and ankle. Horizontal displacements of the upper trunk, hip and knee were recorded with an opto-electronic system (Selspot). A backward displacement of the trunk was accompanied by a forward displacement of the hip and knee. In general, the trunk started to move 30 ms before the hip and knee. Muscle activity first appeared in the ankle extensors (soleus/gastrocnemius) up to 150 ms prior to onset of prime mover muscles (trunk extensor, erector spinae; and hip extensors/knee flexors, hamstrings). This pre-activation was seldom followed by any detectable ankle joint movement. Prime mover muscles were activated simultaneously followed by the hip extensor gluteus maximus. Time to activation of muscles braking the movement (rectus abdominis, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis) was correlated with the amplitude of the primary movement (r = 0.63 0.75, P less than 0.01). Onset of activity in vastus lateralis was highly correlated with the amplitude of the forward displacement of the knee (r = 0.93, P less than 0.01). An associated postural adjustment appeared as an ankle flexion accompanied by activity in the ankle flexor tibialis anterior, and often also in the ankle extensors. This co-activation of antagonistic ankle muscles can under certain conditions have interesting functional implications for the control of posture.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Neural and biomechanical differences between men and young boys during a variety of motor tasks.

The adaptation in activation patterns of the ankle extensor muscles to different functional demands was studied in adult men (n = 10) and 9-year-old boys (n = 10). The relative magnitude of the activation of the slow soleus (SOL) and the relatively fast medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle was measured during various postures and hopping tasks on a force plate. In addition, the myo-electric activity was quantified in three different phases of the stretch-shortening cycles during hopping. Major differences between boys and adults were observed in the postural tasks, where the boys appeared to utilize the MG to a relatively larger extent. During maximal height hopping there was a clearly larger potentiation of the MG activity in the adults, particularly in the eccentric phase. On the other hand, there were striking similarities between boys and adults with respect to the degree of pre-activation of both muscles during the different hopping regimes as well as potentiation of muscle activity during the concentric phase of maximal height hopping. Thus, some aspects of the selective neural control of the ankle extensor muscles appear to be manifested in pre-pubertal boys. However, the data also indicate that other factors, such as utilization of stored elastic energy in the muscles and stretch reflex potentiation, will still continue to develop from the age of nine.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Co-ordination of a simple voluntary multi-joint movement with postural demands: trunk extension in standing man.

The interaction between primary movements and associated postural adjustments was studied during trunk extension movements in standing man. Six healthy male subjects performed one series of six consecutive fast trunk extensions. Movements were recorded with an optoelectronic system (Selspot). Angular displacements, velocities and accelerations at the ankle, knee, hip and trunk were calculated. Trunk inclination was measured as the sum of pelvic tilt and spine flexion. The spatial and temporal coordination patterns chosen by the subjects to complete the task were compared. The self-selected trunk movement amplitude ranged 14-30 degrees for all subjects. The individual amplitude was maintained within 4-7 degrees over the six consecutive trials. Peak velocity of the primary trunk movement was highly correlated with movement amplitude (r = 0.73, P less than 0.01), whereas peak acceleration was not. Trunk extension, was the result of a simultaneous backward pelvic tilt and spine extension, together with hip extension and knee flexion. Knee flexion became increasingly important at larger movement amplitudes since hip extension as well as spine extension was limited. Associated postural adjustments occurred mainly as ankle flexion. In conclusion, individuals can accurately reproduce the multi-joint co-ordination pattern seen during a voluntary trunk extension movement. Movements at the ankle appear to be controlled to counteract the backward shift of the centre of gravity caused by the primary movement. Knee and ankle movements seem to be independently controlled in the preparatory phase, whereas they are closely linked later during the primary movement. It is suggested that the interaction between knee and ankle movements is necessary for optimal equilibrium control during trunk extension movements in standing.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Fast voluntary trunk flexion movements in standing: motor patterns.

The electromyographical (EMG) activity was studied during voluntary flexion movements of the trunk in erect standing man. The movements were performed at maximal velocity with successively increasing amplitude to cover the whole range of motion. The EMG activity was recorded from agonist-antagonist pairs of muscles at the ankle, knee, hip and trunk. The angular displacements at the corresponding joints were recorded using a Selspot optoelectronic system. The duration of initiating activity in prime movers (rectus abdominis and rectus femoris) as well as time to onset of activity in muscles braking the primary movement (erector spinae, gluteus maximus and hamstrings) were highly correlated with amplitude, duration, peak velocity and time to peak velocity of the movement (r = 0.59-0.91). The corresponding correlations for peak acceleration and deceleration of the movement were low (r = 0.03-0.38), indicating that acceleration and deceleration of a movement was not coded in the temporal aspects of the EMG. Onset of activity in rectus abdominis and rectus femoris as well as an early appearing burst of activity in vastus lateralis were invariant in relation to start of movement over the whole movement range. In the initial phase of a fast trunk flexion, activity in tibialis anterior appeared successively earlier with increasing movement amplitude. This resulted in a changed order of activation for the muscles from proximal to distal (rectus abdominis first) to distal to proximal (tibialis anterior first). Two different forms of associated postural adjustments are present during a fast trunk flexion, one early fast knee flexion and a later slower angle extension. Prior to knee flexion, no activity was recorded from muscles flexing at the knee implying that some other force must create a flexing torque around the knee. It is suggested that activity in rectus abdominis initiating the primary movement also initiates knee flexion through the upward pulling of pelvis. This would be possible since rectus femoris stabilizes the pelvis in relation to the leg, allowing the force in rectus abdominis to be transmitted below the hip joint and act extending around the ankle joint. However, when tibialis anterior is activated it stabilizes the shank which in turn will cause a knee flexion controlled by a lengthening contraction in vastus lateralis. During the subsequent ankle extension activity appears in lateral gastrocnemius and soleus causing the associated postural adjustment at the ankle. It can be concluded that activation of postural muscles prior to prime mover muscles is not always necessary.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Fast voluntary trunk flexion movements in standing: primary movements and associated postural adjustments.

Movement patterns were studied during fast voluntary forward flexions of the trunk from an erect standing position. Three healthy subjects performed three series of six consecutive trunk flexions at maximum velocity and with successively increasing amplitude, covering a major part of the range of motion (range for all subjects: 13-97 degrees). Angular displacements of the trunk, hip, knee and ankle were measured together with the tilt of the pelvis and the flexion of the spine using a Selspot optoelectronic system. Trunk flexion was the result of a simultaneous forward pelvic tilt and flexion of the spine. For trunk movements up to 55 degrees, spine flexion dominated the movement, whereas for larger movements a major part of the amplitude was caused by pelvic tilt. During flexion of the trunk a simultaneous hip flexion and ankle extension was seen. At the knee there was an initial flexion and a subsequent extension. The net amplitude of the knee flexion showed a negative correlation with net trunk flexion amplitude for movements up to 50 degrees, whereas for larger amplitudes the correlation was positive. Time from onset of the trunk movement to peak knee flexion showed a weak correlation to net trunk flexion amplitude (r = 0.34) whereas the corresponding correlation was higher for pelvic tilt, spine flexion, hip flexion, ankle extension, and knee extension (r = 0.60-0.91). Each successive trial during a series of trunk movements was started from an increasing degree of knee flexion. This gradual adaptation was also present when successive trunk flexions were performed with constant movement amplitude.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1985

Motor control of voluntary trunk movements in standing.

The pattern of activity in different trunk muscles during voluntary trunk movements was studied in the standing position in man. The electromyographic activity from ventral and dorsal trunk muscles on the left and right sides were recorded together with the movements in the sagittal and frontal planes (Selspot optoelectronic system). Movement direction, amplitude, velocity and initial posture were varied. In all movements there was a basic pattern of alternation between antagonist muscle groups. Fast movements were initiated by a sharp burst of activity, whereas slow flexions and side bendings resulted from a decrease in antigravity muscle activity. Movement amplitude was related to the magnitude of the initiating burst, and also to the time of onset of antagonist muscle activity with a braking effect. The contribution of passive internal forces in the braking of a movement was indicated by the myoelectrical pattern of activity, particularly in slow large side bendings, where ipsilateral activity was present at the end of the movement. Sagittal movements starting at different initial trunk inclinations resulted in shifts in onset time and duration between antagonist muscles. The observed modifications are specific adaptations of the motor program to balance changes in mechanical conditions, such as angular acceleration, moment arm for the gravitational force, and intrinsic forces of active and passive structures surrounding the spine and pelvis. In conclusion, the present results demonstrate that trunk movements are generated and controlled by specific patterns of muscle coordination.

Adult↗