Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1986.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1941.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boise State University, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-82).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1986.

A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, November 2012. / Hominoids practice a diverse array of locomotor behavior, from obligate terrestrial bipedalism to arboreal suspensory behavior, which is reflected in the variable morphology found in their foot bones. That hominin foot bones reflect locomotor behavior is also clear, but the forms of locomotor behaviors to be inferred are less clear. Pressure plate studies indicate that the center of pressure tends to move medially in the human foot during the last half of stance phase of bipedal gaits, while it tends to remain relatively more lateral in the bonobo and chimpanzee foot during the last half of stance phase. Here is presented a comparison of metatarsals of Homo sapiens[n=22] and two species of Pan (Pan paniscus [n=15] Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii [n=22]in order to explore the relationship between Homo and Pan metatarsal morphology and foot function. Specifically, this dissertation addresses whether cortical thickness is associated with the position of maximum change in geometry on the plantar surface in metatarsals.

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Faculty of Medicine School of Physiotherapy 82-29610 Tel: 011 452 3175 / Physiotherapists commonly assess head and shoulder posture and correct poor posture on the grounds that there is an association between the patients’ cervical symptoms and their posture. The aims of this study were firstly to compare the sagittal head and shoulder posture and demographic variables of patients with chronic cervical pain to those of “healthy” volunteers. Secondly, to investigate the relationship between the frequency and severity of pain and the sagittal head and shoulder posture of patients with chronic cervical pain. Lateral view photographs were taken of nineteen patients (experimental group) and eighteen “healthy” volunteers (control group) in a supported sitting position. The following five static postural positions were assessed: (1) neutral or natural head and shoulder posture (2) maximum head protraction (3) maximum head retraction (4) maximum shoulder protraction and (5) maximum shoulder retraction. The active range of anteroposterior glide (total excursion) of the participants’ head and shoulders was also assessed. The participants completed a questionnaire that included their demographic variables, medical history and leisure time activities. Differences in head and shoulder posture were observed between the two groups. Some of these differences supported postural relationships that have been described in the literature. The experimental group had a more forward head resting position than the control group. The range of motion (total excursion) of the head and shoulders of the experimental group was less than the control group. In contrast to clinical assumptions that have been described in the literature, a forward resting head posture was not related to a protracted shoulder position or to upper cervical spine extension when measured in the sagittal plane. A relationship was observed between the frequency and severity of pain in certain body regions and selected postural measurements in the experimental group. It is suspected that most of the findings might be the result of poor cervical and scapular muscle control caused by chronic pain. This emphasises the need to assess the influence of tissue and joint extensibility and muscle control on head and shoulder posture. Analysis of the questionnaires demonstrated that the experimental group’s ability to carry out activities of daily living was significantly affected by pain (p=0,001). There was no significant difference in the number of hours worked per week between the experimental and control groups (p=1,000). There was a tendency (p=0,118) for the control group to devote a greater number of hours to “active” leisure time activities. The control group might have been less symptomatic as a result thereof. This highlights the necessity to further investigate the effect of exercise on postural correction and prevention of cervical symptoms.

Under researched somatosensory contributions to postural stability, in addition to high incident rates of foot injury in the physically active population, lead to two investigative studies. An initial research study compared variables of two postural stability assessment devices to determine reliability of outcome measures and commonality of outcome measures to dynamic postural control. A second study assessed which measures of postural stability were effective in differentiating between injured persons using foot orthotics and non-injured persons, and also compared effects of 3-month foot orthotic usage on measures of postural stability among three groups. In the first study, 23 healthy subjects tested on two separate occasions one-week apart, counterbalancing the testing order. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Pearson product moment correlations were calculated and analyzed. In the second study, 15 patients diagnosed with plantar fasciitis or medial arch sprain were given custom orthotics and matched with 15 non-injured subjects given custom orthotics, and 15 healthy control subjects on gender, age, height, and body mass index. All 45 subjects were assessed on five postural stability tests (12 dependent variables) on seven occasions over a four-month period. Repeated measures MANOVA was employed to evaluate group, time and interaction effects for the outcome variables (α=0.05). Test-retest reliability, in the first study, ranged from moderate to high (ICC[subscript 2,1]=0.71 to 0.92) for all outcome measures. Pearson correlations revealed four statistically significant relationships (p< .05) between outcome measures (r=0.43 to -0.72). In the second study, nine variables were entered into repeated measures MANOVA demonstrating significant main and interaction effects. Post hoc univariate analyses demonstrated six variables with group main effects and three variables with time main effects. Interaction effects in post hoc analysis were non-significant. The moderate to high test-retest reliability observed for outcome measures in the first study is encouraging. Correlations between device outcome measures, while statistically significant, were low enough to suggest that each device provided unique information regarding postural stability. Results from the second study provide strong evidence that foot orthotic wear affects postural stability over time. The nature of test protocols suggests that functional postural stability testing aids in assessing effectiveness of foot orthotics. / Graduation date: 2002