A Closer Look at Biomechanics

The research presented in the opening chapter discusses the use of bone cements, and tests how a novel bone cement, medical grade two-component injectible polymer on silicone basis, can be used. The second chapter demonstrates that the use of finite element modelling to simulate static and dynamic behaviour in an anterior cervical plate design shows that load transmission is superior when the plate works dynamically. The third chapter continues to examine the purpose of simulate static and dynamic behavior with the same anterior cervical plate design in two different clinical scenarios: in the immediate postoperative state and after simulated graft subsidence by means of biomechanical assays. There are contradictory results from previous studies on the effects of laterality on walking, such as the existence of symmetry or asymmetry as well as the role of the dominant leg. Thus, the effects of laterality on walking asymmetry during walking on a treadmill is examined in this compilation. The penultimate chapter discusses the localisation of the body’s center of mass and how that helps in the analyses of sport technique, while information on moment of inertia helps in explaining body angular movements. The final chapter aims to show how the large number of pedobarographic parameters, which vary from 72 to 198 per foot, can be aggregated into a single indicative parameter: the Relative Midfoot Index. This indicates that clinicians do not have to analyse hundreds of pedobarographic parameters in order to reach a meaningful interpretation.