We want to congratulate Trevor Evans on passing his qualifying exams! Trevor will now be turning focusing on his research project investigating human-machine interactions, which is a part of a bigger Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative. Be sure to look out for his call for research subjects and communications on his research. Congratulations Trevor and we can’t wait to update you all on the progress of his project.
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Fastpitch Softball Biomechanics Research Study
In recent years there has been an increase in concern for the health and well-being of youth softball athletes. A study conducted by Werner et. al. looked at Olympic rise-ball pitchers and it was found that the forces, torques, and velocities raised similar concerns as seen in professional baseball pitchers (Werner et al., 2001). In a study by Smith et. al. 36.5% of youth softball pitchers reported having pitched between 75 and 100 pitches per game. Not only is this unregulated, but youth teams typically only carry one pitcher that can throw 2 to 3 games in a day in a 3 to 4 day tournament (Smith et al., 2015).
The objective of this research study is to improve the understanding of softball functional ability and its relationship to biomechanics for both performance and injury prevention. This study will identify changes in stride characteristics between different pitch types and their implications for injury.
We are now underway for human subject testing! Any female pitching athletes between the ages of 13-19 years old who are interested please contact Jessica Gilliam!
Jessica.Gilliam@osumc.edu
Congratulations to Nelson Glover on passing his candidacy exam!
We would like to take the time to congratulate Nelson Glover on passing his candidacy exam! Nelson is now a Doctoral Candidate in the Mechanical Engineering program with a research project focused on understanding the biomechanical consequences of fatigue on recreational runners. Mr. Glover excels in his academics as well as in his research work and serves as a stellar example of the resilience and academic excellence that students should strive to emulate in graduate school. Congratulations Nelson and best of luck for the remainder of your time here!
National Biomechanics Day 2019 is on April 10 at OSU
Dear Biomechanists of the Future,
We would like to invite you to an Open House at the OSU Sports Biomechanics Lab on April 10, 2019. For more information, please contact Nelson Glover at glover.262@osu.edu.
We plan to have several demonstrations and interactive stations to show some of the ways that we use biomechanics. We will also have plenty of undergraduate and graduate student biomechanists who would love to talk to you about what we do!
We have limited capacity, so RSVP’s are needed by April 3, 2019.
Sincerely,
The OSU Sports Biomechanics Lab
Study reveals compression tights don’t reduce fatigue during high-intensity run
Check out some info about our recent study of compression tights in runners. We were investigating whether reducing vibration (with compression tights) would reduce fatigue. Short answer: the tights reduced vibration, but didn’t reduce perceived fatigue or affect muscle force production.
Here are some other stories that appeared in the media:
Stay tuned for the journal article, coming soon…
Sign Up for National Biomechanics Day 2017 at Ohio State!
We are excited to join the +100 institutions around the world in holding biomechanics outreach events on National Biomechanics Day this year (Thursday, April 6, 2017)! We will be hosting two 1.5 hour sessions for high school students starting at 1pm and 4pm that will be held in the gymnasium (suite 2321) of the Martha Morehouse Pavilion (2050 Kenny Rd., Columbus, OH 43221). There is free visitor parking behind the building. Each session will have several hands-on stations ranging from seeing motion capture technology in action, to seeing your muscles and tendons using a diagnostic ultrasound machine, and more! We are looking forward to hosting these fun, interactive sessions for high school students to experience biomechanics first hand.
We currently have spots available in both sessions that can be reserved on a first come first serve basis here. We request that all interested students sign up prior to the event. Please contact scott.monfort@osumc.edu with any questions.
Check out what groups have done for National Biomechanics Day in the past!
Recent publication provides insight into how breast cancer patients develop balance deficits as they go through taxane-based chemotherapy
Scott Monfort recently published this work as part of a National Cancer Institute funded research study led by Ajit Chaudhari, PhD and Maryam Lustberg, MD. The article in Gait & Posture discusses results from 32 breast cancer patients that participated in the pilot study. The interdisciplinary team introduced balance measurements into the oncology clinic to quantify changes in patients’ balance as they progressed through taxane-based chemotherapy. As a group, patients’ balance worsened as they continued through their chemotherapy treatment. Significant changes from baseline values (before starting chemotherapy) were observed after 1 cycle of chemotherapy (2-3 weeks) that were similar in magnitude to the effect of 40 years of aging reported in another study. The results of this study support the feasibility and usefulness of implementing objective measures into the oncology clinic.
An investigation of jogging biomechanics using the full-body lumbar spine model: Model development and validation
Margaret Raabe recently just published an article in the Journal of Biomechanics detailing the development and validation of the novel musculoskeletal model she created in the modeling software OpenSim. This is the first OpenSim full body-model to include extensive trunk musculature and degrees of freedom in the lumbar spine. The full-body lumbar spine (FBLS) model provides researchers with a tool to develop more physiologically accurate full-body dynamic simulations of human movement. The paper also presents some data from jogging simulations created using the FBLS model, and shows that the model successfully estimates jogging biomechanics and muscle activation patterns similar to those previously reported experimentally in the literature. Her model will be made freely-available on the SimTK website (https://simtk.org/home/fullbodylumbar) for other researchers around the world to use to address their own research questions.
Scott Monfort wins AGGRS grant for his dissertation project
Scott was recently awarded an Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship (AGGRS) grant from OSU’s Graduate School to partially fund his dissertation research on the effect of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) on the postural stability of cancer patients. This research investigates how neurotoxic chemotherapy can degrade balance and gait stability in cancer patients as well as the underlying mechanisms that contribute to this instability. The AGGRS funds will be used to help accrue patients into the study as well as to develop a quantitative test for deficits in ankle proprioception, a symptom of peripheral neuropathies, that can be easily administered in a clinical setting. This research is a step towards the long-term goal of reducing the burden that CIPN has on cancer survivors.
Congratulations, Scott!
Columbus hosts the 39th meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics
This past August, Dr. Chaudhari served as the Meeting Chair as Columbus and OSU hosted the 39th ASB meeting with a record-setting 932 registered attendees representing a variety of fields from engineering, sports science, ergonomics to biologic ! Along with the poster symposium, podium talks, and exhibitions, the 2015 ASB meeting featured special programs, like the Women in Science Breakfast, Diversity Breakfast, and a 5K Fun Run. ASB 2015 successfully implemented a CVent event management along with a comprehensive mobile app that not only replaced a paper program, but offered features that made communication, navigating, and planning for participants simpler while allowing them to participate in contests and challenges! The meeting also allowed participants to take tours of all of the biomechanics labs around OSU, including the Movement Analysis and Performance Laboratories, Human performance lab, Movement Lab, Neuromuscular Biomechanics Laboratory, the Spine Institute, and others.
Many thanks to all of our sponsors and participants for making ASB 2015 a huge success!
https://u.osu.edu/asb2015/home/