The goal of the research described in this thesis is to further our understanding of the motor control strategies that are available to the child when learning to produce meaningful interactions with environmental surfaces. The principal aim is to explore the analytical techniques that could be used to evaluate the range of neuromechanical responses for the lower limb that would provide stability at the limb/environment interface during growth and development. Five studies are presented that provide both experimental data and theoretical perspectives that were coalesced in the formulation of a general model for the control of stability at the limb/environment interface. The first study presents an analytical technique that was devised to classify the spatial-temporal organization of the surface myoelectric activity into one of three distinct patterns: Burst, Tonic, and Tonic Burst. This classification permits the matching between the pattern of muscle activity and the kinematic and kinetic control of the ground contact phase of landing. In the second, and companion paper, different distributions of the Burst, Tonic, and Tonic Burst patterns across the muscles of the lower limb were associated with three mechanical responses of the limb to ground contact. Mechanically, the three limb responses show a progression toward an effective control of stability at the limb/environment interface and it was therefore proposed that the distribution of activity patterns could reflect the priorities of system at different stages of growth and development. The results support our hypothesis that more complex movements can be executed when the limits of stability are maximized. Study three presents a formal model for the control of stability at the limb/environment interface. The model was further applied to propose new theoretical approaches that could be used in the clinical milieu, shifting the focus of the evaluation to the range of feasible movements that would be available
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.37808 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Pelland, Lucie. |
| Contributors | McKinley, Patricia (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (School of Physical and Occupational Therapy.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001804163, proquestno: NQ70124, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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