Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Kinetics & Ergonomics)) - Rhodes University, 2009.

La sole plantaire, véritable interface entre le corps et le sol, joue un rôle primordial dans le contrôle de la posture bipédique. Diverses pathologies peuvent affecter le capteur podal. Elles se situent le plus souvent au niveau de la face plantaire, et sont généralement accompagnées de phénomènes algiques voir hyperalgiques. Un quart de la population présente ou présentera une pathologie au niveau des pieds. Les douleurs associées à ces pathologies podales sont souvent décrites comme invalidantes, par les patients, réduisant le périmètre de marche et associées à une cohorte de gênes fonctionnelles (démarche antalgique, douleurs sus-jacentes, anxiété, état dépressif…). La prise en charge de podologie raisonnée de ces podalgies, notamment chez la personne âgée, représente aujourd'hui un enjeu de santé publique majeur. Pour y répondre, il est tout d’abord nécessaire de mener une recherche fondamentale sur les mécanismes mis en jeu dans le contrôle de la posture bipédique, afin de proposer une prise en charge adaptée et raisonnée (« evidence based practice ») des troubles de la posture chez des personnes souffrant de douleurs plantaires.Ce préalable important et nécessaire constitue le cœur et la justification de ce travail doctoral. L’objectif était d’évaluer les effets d’une douleur plantaire induite mécaniquement sur le contrôle de la posture bipédique.Pour répondre à cet objectif général, trois études complémentaires ont été successivement conduites. La première étude visait, dans un premier temps, à évaluer les effets d’une stimulation douloureuse des soles plantaires sur le contrôle de la posture bipédique. Les deuxième et troisième études visaient à évaluer, si et dans quelle mesure, ces effets étaient modifiés en fonction des informations visuelles et sensorielles issues du segment tête-cou pour l’étude 2 et des informations sensorielles issues du segment pied-cheville pour l’étude 3.Dans leur ensemble, les conclusions de ce travail doctoral mettent en évidence l’importance des afférences nociceptives plantaires dans le contrôle de la posture bipédique. En effet, une stimulation douloureuse mécanique des soles plantaires dégrade les capacités de contrôle de la posture bipédique. Une stimulation douloureuse mécanique des soles plantaires induit également une modification de la contribution des différentes informations sensorielles (informations visuelles, informations sensorielles issues du segment tête-cou et du segment pied-cheville) mise en jeu pour contrôler la posture bipédique, soulignant ainsi les mécanismes de repondération sensorielle.Les travaux de cette thèse de doctorat constituent un préambule fondamental indispensable à l’optimisation de la prise en charge par le podologue des douleurs plantaires, et, plus largement, à l’amélioration de l’autonomie et de la qualité de vie des personnes souffrant de douleurs plantaires. Dans ce sens, diverses études cliniques visant à évaluer les effets des orthèses plantaires, sur la prise en charge des douleurs plantaires et par voie de conséquence l’amélioration et/ou le recouvrement des capacités de contrôle de la posture bipédique, sont en cours. / The plantar sole, first point of contact between the body and the ground, plays a real key role in bipedal postural control. A lot of painful pathologies can affect the feet, particularly on the plantar face. Approximately one quarter of the population suffers or will suffer from foot injuries. The pain associated with these pathologies podal are often described as disabling for patients, reducing the walking distance and associated with a cohort of functional perturbations (limp, lowback pain, anxiety, depression ...). Care of foot pain, notably in elderly people, is a very important issue in public health. In order to achieve such care, it is necessary to conduct some fundamental research about the mechanisms that are in action concerning bipedal postural control, to propose some adapted treatments (evidence based practice) to improve the posture of the patients who have foot pain.This important and necessary prerequisite is the heart and justification of this doctoral work. The aim was to evaluate the effects of experimentally induced plantar pain on the bipedal postural control.Three experiments were successively conducted. The aim of the first experiment was to evaluate the effects of experimentally induced plantar pain on the bipedal postural control. The second and third experiments were aimed to assess if these effects were modified in function of the somatosensory information from the vision, the vestibular system and the neck (Study 2) and the somatosensory information from the ankle (Study 3).The results show that an experimentally induced plantar pain degrades the capacity to maintain postural control, and modifies the contributions of the other senses (visual, vestibular, neck and ankle muscle proprioception), showing the mechanisms of somatosensory reweighting in postural control when a pain was applied.This research constitutes a fundamental and indispensable starting point to optimize the care of foot injuries by podiatrists and, more broadly, to improve the autonomy and quality of life of persons suffering from foot pain.Clinical experiments aim to address these issues.

Désir de justification, de légitimation, besoin de laisser une trace, d’affirmer sa position dans le champ éditorial, peu importe la raison, depuis la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle, des éditeurs québécois, après de nombreuses années de labeur dans le domaine de la publication de livres, décident de coucher sur le papier leurs expériences, surtout professionnelles. En se mettant en scène, l’éditeur devient un auteur. Il est obligé d’adopter une nouvelle posture, une posture d’auteur, tout en gardant sa posture d’éditeur. Mais de quelle manière se construit-il comme auteur?

The special problem which the writer chose was the study of the most prevalent postural defects of two hundred fourteen school children at Pershing Elementary School, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and to prepare and to administer a program of corrective exercises, and further to determine the progress made by the children after the application of the corrective program for the school years 1946-47 through 1947-48.

What is the ideal human upright posture? Where did it come from, how did it develop, what is its significance, how is it measured? What are the cause and effect of malposture? Much has been published on the role of posture in physical as well as mental and emotional states of the individual. This study was undertaken to investigate these issues, while at the same time aiming to find the position and role of posture in the physical and psychological context of human life. The first aspect of posture investigated was its definition. What constitutes good posture is still a debated issue. The conclusion drawn was that good posture represents the state of balance in an individual at rest and during motion. Ideally this state should be achieved with all the body parts aligned on top of each other requiring minimal effort and energy expenditure. The evolutionary origin of the upright posture in man was traced in order to come to a clearer understanding of the anatomical, biomechanical and physiological mechanisms involved in posture. The positions and functions of some muscles and bones have remained, and some have changed during the development of the upright human from its quadrupedal ancestors. Maintenance of balanced posture depends mainly on the coordinated action of the stabilizing mono-articulated muscles, and their place and purpose in upright man were viewed in the light of their origins. By so doing one is able to uncover their intended use and to identify misuse of these muscles. Development throughout childhood mimics the evolutionary process. A series of postural exercises was described, which follows the childhood/evolutionary pattern, and have proven to be successful in postural rehabilitation and body¬mind integration. In order to understand the concept of the upright standing posture, control mechanisms responsible for maintaining upright posture were reviewed. These included the sensory and the neuromusculo-skeletal systems. This was duly undertaken in accordance with existing literature, it was concluded that posture is controlled in association with all human functions. Following the concept that posture affects the mind and emotions, the work and theories of prominent researchers in the body-mind and postural integration field such as Frederick Alexander, Raymond Dart, Moshe Feldenkrais, Alexander Lowen, Wilhelm Reich and Ida Rolf were reviewed and distilled. This led to evidence that treatment of the body has an effect on the mind, that structure influences function and that postural equilibrium has a beneficial influence on both mind and body. According to numerous workers malposture in man is pandemic. Ensuing literature and empirical research on total body posture, and the position of each area of the body, from the head to the feet, revealed divergent causes of this problem as well as effects of malposture, including negative self-image, psycholological problems, pain, fatigue and the inability to achieve the full human potential. Although there is no obvious cause of postural imbalance, there are many ways of preventing or rectifying the disorder. During the course of a postural rehabilitation therapy, there is a good chance of uncovering the underlying cause of the postural imbalance. This can be as deep seated as a personality disorder or as clear as the fear of an old sport injury. The incidence and extent of postural defects were investigated in two small groups of subjects with the aim to determine the range of postural deviations, and the body areas most commonly affected. All subjects studied, leaned forward with the gravity line anterior to the ankle joint. Postural defects were prevalent in all subjects. Most of the subjects were categorized as having severe postural defects or gross deformity. Postural asymmetry and kyphosis were the most common defects. The conclusions drawn from these studies were that most people, in any age group, suffer from some type of postural defect, supporting the general consensus that malposture is a pandemic condition. The effects of postural rehabilitation were also investigated. Postures improved in all the subjects over a period of twelve weeks, with a more vertical body alignment the most obvious change. Postural rehabilitation has physical and psychological consequences. This was demonstrated by improvement in posture and increased body awareness, a decrease in the tendency to become fatigued, an decrease in back and neck stiffness and improvement in mental attitudes. Postural training in general could therefore be profitable for both body and mind, and an appreciation of good posture and its resulting efficiency represents the best kind of preventative medicine. Postural training should have a place in both Education and Health. / Thesis (D Phil (HMS))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Arts, Languages and Human Movement Studies Education / Unrestricted

Background: PostureScreen Mobile® is an app created to quickly screen posture using front and side-view photographs. There is currently a lack of evidence that establishes PostureScreen Mobile® (PSM) as a valid measure of posture. Therefore, the purpose of this preliminary study was to document the validity and reliability of PostureScreen Mobile® in assessing static standing posture. Methods: This study was an experimental trial in which the posture of 50 male participants was assessed a total of six times using two different methods: PostureScreen Mobile® and Vicon 3D motion analysis system (VIC). Postural deviations, as measured during six trials of PSM assessments (3 trials with and 3 trials without anatomical markers), were compared to the postural deviations as measured using the VIC as the criterion measure. Measurement of lateral displacement on the x-axis (shift) and rotation on the y-axis (tilt) were made of the head, shoulders, and hips in the frontal plane. Measurement of forward/rearward displacement on the Z-axis (shift) of the head, shoulders, hips, and knees were made in the sagittal plane. Validity was evaluated by comparing the PSM measurements of shift and tilt of each body part to that of the VIC. Reliability was evaluated by comparing the variance of PSM measurements to the variance of VIC measurements. The statistical model employed the Bayesian framework and consisted of the scaled product of the likelihood of the data given the parameters and prior probability densities for each of the parameters. Results: PSM tended to overestimate VIC postural tilt and shift measurements in the frontal plane and underestimate VIC postural shift measurements in the sagittal plane. Use of anatomical markers did not universally improve postural measurements with PSM, and in most cases, the variance of postural measurements using PSM exceeded that of VIC. The patterns in the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) suggest high trial-to-trial variation in posture. Conclusions: We conclude that until research further establishes the validity and reliability of the PSM app, it should not be used in research or clinical applications when accurate postural assessments are necessary or when serial measurements of posture will be performed. We suggest that the PSM be used by health and fitness professionals as a screening tool, as described by the manufacturer. Due to the suspected trial-to-trial variation in posture, we question the usefulness of a single postural assessment.

The use of self-ligating brackets has gained popularity recently in orthodontic treatment. The Damon philosophy is a system that employs passive self-ligation with the use of light forces to achieve arch development and to relieve dental crowding. The philosophy of the system is that the use of light forces does not overpower the forces of the lips, tongue, and other peri-oral soft tissue thereby allowing for optimal equilibration of forces that is customized to every individual. If this actually occurs, changes in the posture of the tongue and hyoid would be expected as is seen after orthognathic surgery and rapid maxillary expansion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if these postural adjustments do occur, and, if they do, to assess if there is a stratification of treatment effect based on dental classification. A customized cephalometric evaluation was designed from an amalgamation of previous cephalometric studies. This cephalometric study not only evaluated changes due to treatment but also assessed changes in cervical postural position to validate the quality of the measurements and to verify that radiographs were taken in a correct and repeatable head position. Cephalometric measurements were correlated with measurements of posterior dental expansion at the premolars and molars. Results of the study showed a correlation in tongue length and hyoid to mandible measurements. Lack of significance in the cervical posture cephalometric changes validated the cephalometric design and the quality of radiograph included in the study. Significant posterior dental expansion was documented although this expansion was limited to the premolar regions. Changes in tongue length correlated with dental expansion, particularly in the lower premolars. Lastly, increases in upper airway space correlated with dental expansion, particularly in Class III patients. This finding is very interesting and suggests the need for further research in this area. Additionally, replication of this study with more subjects may yield very interesting results. Overall, this study supports the fact that studies of soft tissue changes in relation to orthodontic treatment need further investigation as these tissues are involved in the equilibrium of forces and are directly related to the stability of orthodontic treatment. / Oral Biology

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Thesis (M. Sc.)--York University, 2002. Graduate Programme in Kinesiology and Health Science. / Title on certificate page: Contributions of posture and force to forearm EMG during grip tasks. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-119). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71610.

Flatfoot is one of the most common conditions seen in pediatric podiatry practice. Flatfoot is a term used to describe a recognizable clinical deformity created by malalignment at several adjacent joints. Clinically, a flatfoot is one that has a low or absent longitudinal arch. There enough many studies designed to assess the flatfoot and body posture of young schoolchildren but it is difficult to find out the data concerning the preschool children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of long-term exercise training procedures designed for the treatment of flatfoot of pre-school children and influence of flatfoot to posture. Subject in this study was 61 pre-school children. To 32 of them was set the diagnosis of flatfoot and during three years the exercise training procedures was applied. The results obtained during the study has showed that for 44 percent of these children has not any deformations of foots, so the designed exercise training procedures were effective. The other task of this study was to assess the influence of flatfoot to posture. Children who has a foot deformations has more frequent postural problems in comparison to healthy foot children. The higher influence to body posture has a asymmetry in flatfoot than the degree or value of flatfoot. On the other hand the employed computer program “Autocad” was suitable for evaluation of postural peculiarities of children and allowed to perform a precise measurements and analysis of obtained... [to full text]