Facial reconstruction

Search LJMU Research Online

Browse Repository | Browse E-Theses

Achilles tendon moment arm length is smaller in children with cerebral palsy than in typically developing children

Kalkman, B, Bar-On, L, Cenni, F, Maganaris, CN, Bass, A, Holmes, G, Deslovere, K, Barton, GJ and O'Brien, TD (2017) Achilles tendon moment arm length is smaller in children with cerebral palsy than in typically developing children. Journal of Biomechanics. ISSN 0021-9290

[img]
Preview
Text
Achilles tendon moment arm length is smaller in children with cerebral palsy than in typically developing children.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (868kB) | Preview

Abstract

When studying muscle and whole-body function in children with cerebral palsy (CP), knowledge about both internal and external moment arms is essential since they determine the mechanical advantage of a muscle over an external force. Here we asked if Achilles tendon moment arm (MAAT) length is different in children with CP and age-matched typically developing (TD) children, and if MAAT can be predicted from anthropometric measurements. Sixteen children with CP (age: 10y 7 m ± 3y, 7 hemiplegia, 12 diplegia, GMFCS level: I (11) and II (8)) and twenty TD children (age: 10y 6 m ± 3y) participated in this case-control study. MAAT was calculated at 20° plantarflexion by differentiating calcaneus displacement with respect to ankle angle. Seven anthropometric variables were measured and related to MAAT. We found normalized MAAT to be 15% (∼7 mm) smaller in children with CP compared to TD children (p = 0.003). MAAT could be predicted by all anthropometric measurements with tibia length explaining 79% and 72% of variance in children with CP and TD children, respectively. Our findings have important implications for clinical decision making since MAAT influences the mechanical advantage about the ankle, which contributes to movement function and is manipulated surgically.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 0903 Biomedical Engineering, 1106 Human Movement And Sports Science, 0913 Mechanical Engineering
Subjects: R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Divisions: Sport & Exercise Sciences
Publisher: Elsevier
Date Deposited: 20 Mar 2017 10:41
Last Modified: 04 Sep 2021 11:48
DOI or ID number: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.02.027
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6040
View Item View Item