Substantiating Appropriate Motion Capture Techniques for the Assessment of Nordic Walking Gait and Posture in Older Adults

Nordic walking influence on biomechanical parameters: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Nordic walking (NW) as a form of physical activity has been shown to have benefits in various domains, but little is known about the effect of NW on more specific biomechanical parameters. The purpose is to determine the impact of NW on the following parameters: walking speed/distance, muscle activation, spatiotemporal parameters, kinematics and ground reaction force.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

A literature search was carried out in different databases from October 2008 to October 2018. This review was conducted and reported in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Finally, 42 studies with a median PEDro Score of 5.5/10 were included.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

The included studies reported increased walking distance (+14.8%, P<0.05), walking speed (+25.5%, P<0.05), and stride length (+10.4%, P<0.05), but decreased cadence (-6.2%, P<0.05). NW generally increased: muscle activation and strength for upper limbs; upper and lower limb range of motion, and ground reaction force.

CONCLUSIONS

NW has beneficial effects on many biomechanical parameters. It appears to be an effective way of doing physical activity and could be used in physical rehabilitation or in daily life.

Using motion capture technology to measure the effects of magnification loupes on dental operator posture: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

Motion analysis has great potential for quantitatively evaluating dental operator posture and the impact of interventions such as magnification loupes on posture and subsequent development of musculoskeletal disorders.

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to determine the feasibility of motion capture technology for measurement of dental operator posture and examine the impact that different styles of magnification loupes had on dental operator posture.

METHODS

Forward and lateral head flexion were measured for two different operators while completing a periodontal probing procedure. Each was measured while wearing magnification loupes (flip up-FL and through the lens-TTL) and basic safety lenses.

RESULTS

Operators both exhibited reduced forward flexion range of motion (ROM) when using loupes (TTL or FL) compared to a baseline lens (BL). In contrast to forward flexion, no consistent trends were observed for lateral flexion between subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

The researchers can report that it is possible to measure dental operator posture using motion capture technology. More study is needed to determine which type of magnification loupes (FL or TTL) are superior in improving dental operator posture. Some evidence was found supporting that the quality of operator posture may more likely be related to the use of magnification loupes, rather than the specific type of lenses worn.