Is osteoarthritis a fate unconditionally vested in genetic makeup, or are joints aggravated into inflammation by the way they are treated? Humans are a complicated conglomeration of experiences, decisions, and inheritance. Osteoarthritis, likewise, has evaded simplicity in any explanation of its causation, so it necessitates a multi-dimensional perspective. This research considers the relevance of Alexander Technique in filling a void in which treatment and management of osteoarthritis is not equally equipped to answer this multi-dimensional causation. Alexander Technique is classified as a movement therapy, but this does not quite encompass the mindset of it—that it is indeed largely a mindset about movement. More concisely, Alexander Technique emphasizes self-awareness about how a person uses his or her body to perform daily tasks. It is physical minimalism, and involves continual recognition of muscle tension along with the ability to let go of any tension that is burdensome and unnecessary. This technique has diminished pain and increased the ease of movement for those who have experienced it, even people with osteoarthritis. To build the argument that osteoarthritis can be hindered through a heightened consideration of how joints are treated, the initial component of this research investigated the vast amount of information already gleaned about the pathogenesis of this disease. The fields of physiology, genetics, immunology, and clinical practice already have much to share, and this knowledge has been combined with studies about the benefits and goals of Alexander Technique to discover the common ground of osteoarthritis treatment. The experimental component assesses the association of Alexander Technique to the minimization of pain from osteoarthritis. An online survey asks osteoarthritis cohorts about the history of their disease, the effect it has had on their pain levels and activities of daily living, and about the efficacy of their management strategies. Because each participant will be asked if he or she has received Alexander Technique lessons, the survey can be used to analyze each respondent’s experience of osteoarthritis with respect to that. It was found that participants who had received Alexander Technique lessons reported an average of one more pain-free day per week, and experienced diminished pain levels for daily physical activities such as walking. Management strategies also indicated the benefit of Alexander Technique; those who had taken lessons less frequently used pain and anti-inflammatory medications and were able to be more physically active than the unexposed group. No statistical significance was achieved from the data, largely owing to small sample size (Alexander Technique, n=12, no Alexander Technique, n=25). This study is a step in the direction of better osteoarthritis management, promoting prevention-minded awareness of joint use and providing preliminary fuel for more extensive research.

This diploma thesis deals with stress analysis central joint of forest forwarder LVS 511. Stress analysis has been performed by finite element method (FEM) using the program NX I-deas. The diploma thesis was conducted in cooperation with the firm Strojírna novotný s.r.o.

Submitted by Aelson Maciera (aelsoncm@terra.com.br) on 2017-05-23T18:50:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFS.pdf: 13567836 bytes, checksum: c5a315d5c2ca036adaf60af9cd1f3b41 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-31T18:21:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFS.pdf: 13567836 bytes, checksum: c5a315d5c2ca036adaf60af9cd1f3b41 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-31T18:21:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFS.pdf: 13567836 bytes, checksum: c5a315d5c2ca036adaf60af9cd1f3b41 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-31T18:27:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFS.pdf: 13567836 bytes, checksum: c5a315d5c2ca036adaf60af9cd1f3b41 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-05 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Every year, up to 70% of recreational runners reported some musculoskeletal injury. Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is one of the most common injuries in these athletes. It has been reported that gait retraining may have a beneficial effect on the lower limb biomechanics and consequently may reduce the patellofemoral joint overload. However, the information regarding biomechanical and clinical effects after a training protocol in PFP runners and, the comparison between different techniques in a same cohort in order to identify the most effective are sparse. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were: to evaluate the immediate and long-term effects of gait retraining of kinematic, electromyography, pain and function in PFP runners and; to verify the effectiveness of three running techniques on the patelofemoral joint stress in healthy runners. The three running techniques were: forefoot landing, step rate increase by 10% and forward trunk lean. Kinematic, kinetic and electromyography analysis were done. To assess pain and function, the visual analog scale and two self-reported questionnaires were used. The results showed that the three running techniques reduce pain intensity and improve function in PFP runners after 2 weeks of a supervised gait retraining and, these improvements are maintained 6 months after the intervention. The gait retraining increased the muscle pre-activation before the initial contact. Forefoot landing technique was the most effective condition for reducing patellofemoral joint loading. / Cerca de 70% dos corredores recreacionais apresentam alguma lesão musculoesquelética a cada ano, sendo a dor patelofemoral (DPF) uma das lesões mais comuns nesses atletas. Tem sido relatado que modificações na técnica de corrida promovem efeitos benéficos na biomecânica do membro inferior e, consequentemente, reduzem a sobrecarga sobre a articulação patelofemoral. Porém, há escassez de informação a respeito dos efeitos biomecânicos e clínicos após um protocolo de treinamento aplicado em corredores com DPF, além da ausência de estudos que tenham comparado diferentes técnicas de corrida aplicadas em uma mesma amostra, a fim de identificar a mais eficaz. Dessa forma, os objetivos da tese foram: avaliar os efeitos imediatos e a longo prazo do treinamento das técnicas de corrida sobre variáveis cinemáticas, eletromiográficas, dor e função em corredores com DPF; e verificar a eficácia das técnicas na redução do estresse patelofemoral em corredores sadios. As técnicas de corrida investigadas neste estudo foram: corrida com aterrissagem com o antepé, corrida com aumento de 10% da frequência da passada e corrida com aumento da flexão do tronco. Foram feitas análises cinemáticas, cinéticas e eltromiográficas da corrida. Para avaliação da dor e função, foram utilizadas a escala visual analógica e questionários traduzidos e validados para a língua portuguesa. Os resultados indicaram que as três técnicas de corrida reduzem a intensidade da dor e melhoram a função em corredores com DPF após 2 semanas de treinamento supervisionado e os ganhos clínicos são mantidos após 6 meses de intervenção. E a corrida com aterrissagem com antepé foi a técnica mais eficaz na redução do estresse patelofemoral em corredores sadios. / FAPESP: 2013/26318-7 / FAPESP: 2015/20306-2

Tumorous total endoprosthesis of hip joint is used for reconstruction of the limb affected by bone tumor and to regain its functnion. Longterm load conditions must be considered by the reconstruction and the joint mobility must be enabled. Suitability of the endoprosthesis depends on its construction considering shape, material and with this related mechanical properties. This thesis deals with creation of computational model and stress-strain analysis of tumorous total endoprosthesis of hip joint. There are two different types of endoprosthesis modeled in this thesis, each with three different length of resected bone replacement. Based on stress-strain analysis an assessment of possible limit states is made.

The presented master’s thesis deals with the problem of the application of total endoprosthesis (TEP) during temporomandibular joint (TMJ) replacement. The implantation of TEP occurs due the severe TMJ disease (arthrosis, ankylosis, cancer) or its macrotrauma. Condylar prosthesis is fixed during the implantation by self-tapping screws to the mandible. This fixation causes a change of stress-strain behaviour of mandible, TEP and fixation screws. In the thesis is performed the stress-strain analysis by using computational modeling in use the finite element method (FEM). Analysis is performed for six different screws positions (the number of screws is unchanged) and for a variable the static friction coefficient (in range 0.1 to 0.11) between condylar prosthesis (CP) and fossa prosthesis (FP). Altogether, 36 variants of computational models were created. The stress strain analysis detected a substantial influence of the static friction coefficient value to final results of displacements, contact pressure on the articulation surface between the CP and the FP and also to von Mises stress of the CP. A substantial influence of different screws position is detected for von Mises stress in the screws and for von Mises strain in the cortical and spongious bone tissue.