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Biomedical subjects

S B Sepic

Publications and source records attributed to S B Sepic.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Strength of isometric and isokinetic contractions: knee muscles of men aged 20 to 86.

Maximum isometric and isokinetic torques of the knee flexor and extensor muscles were measured at three knee joint positions in 72 normal, health men in three age groups from 20 to 86 years. The isokinetic contractions were performed at a speed of 36 degrees per second. The isometric contractions were sustained for five seconds. Strength of the men in the older age groups was significantly less than that of the youngest group. The strength of the isokinetic contractions was significantly less than that of the isometric contractions for all joint positions. The men in the oldest age group generally took longer than the younger men to reach peak torque during the isometric contractions. The torque values provide base-lines for evaluating patients with knee joint disabilities.

Adult↗

A comparison of the funtional performance of patients with Charnley and Müller total hip replacement. A two-year follow-up of eighty-nine cases.

Measurements of functional performance in 35 cases with Charnley total hip replacement were compared with those of 54 cases with Müller replacement before surgery and at 6- and 24-month follow-up intervals. The measurements included strength of the hip abductor and adductor muscles, hip motion, the amount of weight borne on the involved limb during standing posture, multiple components of free-speed and fast walking, and force applied to canes and crutches. Both replacement groups improved significantly in most components of function. In fact, both groups reached or nearly reached the lower limits of normal variability in weight-bearing ability, cadence, and some components which relate to smoothness of walking performance. The groups with Müller and Charnley replacement differed most in some components of range of hip motion, hip muscle strength, and lateral lurching during walking.

Adult↗

Function of the triceps surae during gait. Compensatory mechanisms for unilateral loss.

We studied the gait of a woman who was normal except for surgical excision of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. She was able to compensate for nearly all of her abnormalites of gait by excessive lateral pelvic tilt and prolonged quadriceps activity. Her mild disability, as regards gait, consisted of inability to increase walking speeds beyond the normal pacing. However, despite uneven step lengths, she had uniform forward progression. She had excessive dorsiflexion of the ankle and diminished plantar flexion on the involved side even though the retained plantar flexors could provide 38 per cent of her normal plantar flexor strength.

Adult↗

Walking patterns of men with parkinsonism.

Interrupted-light photography was used to record the simultaneous displacement patterns of multiple body segments of 44 patients with parkinsonism during free-speed and fast walking to quantitatively characterize their gait peculiarities. The patients were categorized into three disability groups according to their independence in activities of daily living. Their measurements of walking performance were compared to those of normal men. The gait components of the patients, which related systematically to the degree of disability, were: step lengths, vertical excursions of the head, extension of the hip and knee of the backward-directed limb at the onset of contralateral weight bearing, toe-floor distance at the onset of weight bearing, and rotation of the thorax.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Maximum isometric knee flexor and extensor muscle contractions: normal patterns of torque versus time.

Isometric torque of the knee flexor and extensor muscles were recorded for 5 seconds at three knee joint positions. The subjects included healthy men in age groups from 20 to 35 and 45 to 65 years of age. The amplitudes and duration of peak torque and the time to peak torque were measured for each contraction. Peak torque was usually maintaned less than 0.1 second and never longer than 0.9 second. At each of the three angles, the mean extensor muscle torque was higher than the mean flexor muscle torque in both age groups, and the mean torque for both muscle group was higher among the younger than among the older man. The highest average torque was recorded at the knee angle of 60 degrees for the extensor muscles and 45 degrees for the flexor muscles, but this was not always a stereotyped response either for a given individual or among individuals.

Adult↗

Roentgenographic measurements after Müller total hip replacement. Correlations among roentgenographic measurements and hip strength and mobility.

In fifty-two patients with Müller total hip replacement, roentgenographic measurements of prosthetic component positioning were correlated with hip-muscle strength and mobility measurements. Compared with the normal side, the average position of the center of the prosthetic head was more medial and superior in the pelvis, and the greater trochanter was more distal and lateral. Increasing neck length (distance from the center of the prosthetic head to the lesser trochanter) and a more distal position of the greater trochanter were among the measurements that related favorably to measurements of patient function. More superior placement of the center of the prosthetic head in the pelvis was associated with a more superior position of the lesser trochanter, which related adversely to function.

Aged↗

Normal postural stability and steadiness: quantitative assessment.

A force platform was utilized to provide a new and sensitive means to measure postural steadiness and stability. Normal standards are presented for the center of pressure of the vertical supportive force during standing and sustained weight-shifting of normal men in three age groups. Two distinguishing characteristics were seen for normal upright posture: (1) a large area of stability over which weight can be safely shifted and maintained, and (2) steadiness such that the center of pressure fluctuates incessantly, traversing large total excursions, while remaining remarkably close to the mean point. The youngest age group showed the greatest steadiness and stability and the oldest group showed the least.

Adult↗

Walking patterns of men with unilateral surgical hip fusion.

The gait of men with unilateral hip fusion is somewhat slow, asymmetrical, and arrhythmic as compared with that of normal men. Compensation for absent hip motion is accomplished by increased transverse and sagittal rotation of the pelvis, increased motion in the sound hip, and increased flexion of the knee throughout the stance phase on the fused side. Relationships between the fusion position, certain physical traits, and walking performance suggest that the best gait can be expected in young patients who have free motion of the lumbar spine, the sound hip, and the knee on the side of fusion, and who have equal limb lengths and a hip fused in a position that does not include excessive adduction.

Adolescent↗

Roentgenographic findings of the cervical spine in asymptomatic people.

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and severity of degenerative changes seen on lateral roentgenograms in 200 asymptomatic men and women in five age groups with an age range of 20-65 years and to determine the normal values of cervical lordosis and spinal canal sagittal diameters and their relationship to degenerative changes. It was found that by age 60-65, 95% of the men and 70% of the women had at least one degenerative change on their roentgenograms. A small sagittal diameter correlated with the presence of degenerative changes at the same disc level, and the strongest correlation was with the size of the posterior osteophytes at C5-6 (r = 0.52). Cervical lordosis measurements did not relate to degenerative changes except for subjects over age 50 with moderate or severe intervertebral narrowing. It is important to realize that although roentgenographic abnormalities represent structural changes in the spine, they do not necessarily cause symptoms.

Adult↗

Neck pain: a long-term follow-up of 205 patients.

Two hundred five patients with neck pain were evaluated clinically and roentgenographically for a minimum of 10 years after onset of symptoms. Seventy-nine percent had a decrease in pain, and 43% were free of pain; however, 32% had moderate or severe residual pain. Patients who had been injured and initially had severe pain were the most likely to have an unsatisfactory outcome; however, no other clinical features were of value in predicting the final result. The presence or severity of pain was not related to the presence of degenerative changes, the sagittal diameter of the spinal canal, the degree of cervical lordosis, or to any changes in these measurements over the evaluation period.

Adult↗