Objective To investigate and analyze the present situation and needs of the rehabilitation engineering profession. Methods It was investigated with questionnaire, interview to the hospitals and companies with or for assistive devices services, industry association and similar institutions, etc. The literatures were also reviewed. Results The industry of rehabilitation engineering is facing opportunities for development, and need a mass of professions of rehabilitation engineering technology, especially those of prosthetist, orthotist and technical support, etc. Conclusion The rehabilitation engineering technology is developing widely. The courses should be reformed to meet the differentneeds based on the standards and specifications.

BACKGROUND:Kinesio taping is often used for the treatment of various sports injuries.The methods of foot and ankle sports taping are complex and diverse.Among them,Fascia taping is applicable to a wider range of people and can be used for different foot posture types,but it still lacks of practical verification,and its specific biomechanical role is not clear. OBJECTIVE:To observe the changes in plantar pressure characteristics of subjects with different foot positions during walking and jogging after Fascia taping. METHODS:Thirty-seven young healthy subjects were recruited from the Yantai campus of Binzhou Medical University to conduct the test.They were scored according to the foot posture index-six items version,and were divided into the supination foot group,the neutral foot group,and the pronation foot group.The static foot morphological indexes(including navicular drop,arch height index,arch height flexibility-longitudinal arch,and arch height flexibility-transverse arch)and the pressure-time integral of each foot zone during walking and jogging were collected and calculated respectively before and after Kinesio taping.The specific biomechanical mechanism of Fascia taping was analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)General data:There was no statistical difference among the three groups of subjects in general data,such as gender,height,and body mass index(P>0.05).Before taping,there was a significant difference in the foot morphological indexes and the areas of the outer front foot,midfoot,and hindfoot between different foot posture groups(P<0.01).(2)Static foot morphological indexes:After taping,there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in navicular drop,arch height flexibility-longitudinal arch,and arch height flexibility-transverse arch(P>0.05),while there was still a significant difference between the groups in the arch height index(P<0.05).In the supination foot group,the arch height index increased slightly,but there was no significant difference before and after taping(P>0.05).In the pronation foot group,the navicular drop and arch height flexibility-longitudinal arch was significantly reduced,and the arch height index was increased.There was a significant difference before and after taping(P<0.05).(3)The index of plantar pressure during walking:After taping,there was no significant difference between the three groups in the area of lateral forefoot and medial midfoot(P>0.05).In the pronation foot group,the lateral load of the forefoot increased after taping(P<0.05).In the supination position group,the load of the lateral forefoot and midfoot regions increased significantly(P<0.05),while the difference in the rear foot region was not significant(P>0.05).(4)The index of plantar pressure during jogging:After taping,there was no statistically significant difference between groups in the lateral forefoot(P>0.05).In the pronation foot group,the load of the medial forefoot increased significantly(P<0.05).In the supination position group,the load of the lateral forefoot,the middle foot and the rear foot region increased significantly(P<0.05).(5)The results showed that the Fascia taping was suitable for different foot postures.It could not only correct the static foot structure of subjects with different foot postures,but also regulate the abnormal plantar pressure distribution during the dynamic activities of walking and jogging,and the load of the midfoot,forefoot,and hindfoot in the supination and pronation posture tended to normal foot posture load level.

BACKGROUND:During stair walking,different muscles work in concert and compensate for each other,and it is unclear whether weakened muscle strength actually affects stair fall risk in older adults.Real-time electromyographic signals from older adults during stair walking are used to reflect high fall risk in older adults during stair walking,which may further improve the accuracy of prediction methods. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of aging on lower limb muscle activation in older adults during stair walking and to analyze the relationship between their muscle activation characteristics and stair fall risk. METHODS:Subjects were divided by age into an older group(n=19)and a younger group(n=18)group and were asked to walk on a 10-step staircase at a natural speed,incorporating surface electromyography acquisition technology,to capture surface electromyography signals during stair walking and calculate the root mean square(RMS)to analyze differences in muscle activation levels.Logistic regression analysis was utilized to establish a predictive model for stair fall risk in older adults by incorporating the lateral femoral and gastrocnemius muscle RMS.The discrimination of the model was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve,and the fit of the model was evaluated using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Activation of the rectus femoris(Z=-3.464,P=0.001;t=3.379,P=0.002)and lateral gastrocnemius muscle(Z=-2.978,P=0.003;Z=-3.555,P<0.001)was higher in older adults than in younger adults when walking up and down stairs.Activation of the anterior tibialis(Z=-2.350,P=0.019)and medial(Z=2.321,P=0.020)and lateral(t=3.158,P=0.004)gastrocnemius muscles was higher in older adults when ascending stairs than descending stairs.Older adults at risk for falls had less activation of the lateral femoral muscle(Z=-2.613,P=0.009),medial gastrocnemius muscle(Z=-2.286,P=0.022)when walking upstairs,and lateral femoral muscle(Z=-2.368,P=0.018)when walking downstairs than did older adults not at risk for falls.The predictive ability,goodness of fit,and discrimination of the stair fall prediction model for older adults based on surface electromyography were good(P-value of 0.010 for the Omnibus test of the model coefficients,P-value of 0.214 for the Hosmer-Lemeshow test,and the area of the curve of the upper staircase lateral femoral muscle=0.856,P=0.009).(5)The model was modeled with a cut-off value of 38.64 for the upper staircase lateral femoral muscle RMS value and there was a 0.952-fold increase in the risk of staircase falls for each unit decrease in the upper staircase lateral femoral muscle RMS in older adults.

ObjectiveTo identify the biomechanical deviations of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) during static standing and level walking. MethodsCross-sectional, observational studies comparing biomechanical characteristics between individuals with AIS and healthy controls were searched in the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, CBM, Wanfang data and VIP. The retrieval time was from the establishment of the database to August, 2021. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. The data were analyzed with RevMan 5.4. ResultsA total of 23 studies were finally included, with a total of 1 092 subjects. The overall methodological quality was moderate to high level. During static standing, the sway area (ES = 0.69, 95%CI 0.35 to 1.02, P < 0.001), anteroposterior transfer speed (ES = 0.59, 95%CI 0.29 to 0.89, P < 0.001) and mediolateral transfer speed (ES = 0.47, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.83, P < 0.05) of plantar pressure center were more in AIS group than in the control group, however, there was no significant difference in the inclination of pelvic frontal plane (ES = 0.10, 95%CI -0.16 to 0.36, P > 0.05). During walking, the sagittal range of motion of knee (ES = -0.59, 95%CI -1.00 to -0.17, P = 0.005) and ankle (ES = -0.55, 95%CI -0.96 to -0.14, P = 0.008) were less in AIS group than in the control group, and the duration of EMG activity of the gluteus medius (ES = 1.21, 95%CI 0.23 to 2.18, P = 0.02), the quadratus lumborum (ES = 1.13, 95%CI 0.68 to 1.57, P < 0.001) and the erector spinae (ES = 1.20, 95%CI 0.75 to 1.65, P < 0.001) was longer in AIS group than in the control group, while no significant difference was observed in the step speed (ES = -0.12, 95%CI -0.45 to 0.21, P = 0.49). Compared with the control group, the step length of the spinal concave side (ES = -0.37, 95%CI -0.72 to -0.02, P = 0.04) was shorter, but the overall step length (ES = -0.22, 95%CI -0.76 to 0.31, P = 0.42) was not significantly different in AIS group. ConclusionCompared with the healthy controls, some characteristic biomechanical changes were exhibited in the AIS patients, including spatiotemporal characteristics, kinematic and mechanical characteristics, and electromyographic signal characteristics.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of core stability training on dynamic balance and surface electromyography (sEMG) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), and to analyze the correlation between balance index and sEMG. MethodsFrom March to December, 2022, 32 patients with ACLR in Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University were randomly divided into control group (n = 16) and experimental group (n = 16). The control group accepted routine rehabilitation treatment, and the experimental group added core stability training, for six weeks. They were evaluated with American Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS) and International Knee Documentation Committee Knee Score (IKDC), and the dynamic balance function and sEMG were measured before and after treatment, and the correlation between dynamic balance index and root mean square (RMS) of sEMG was analyzed. ResultsAfter treatment, the scores of HSS and IKDC increased significantly in both groups (|Z| > 3.526, |t| > 63.544, P < 0.001), and were better in the experimental group than in the control group (Z = -2.392, t = 2.650, P < 0.05); the length of gait line and single support line increased significantly, the medial-lateral displacement displacement decreased (|t| > 2.368, Z = -3.516, P < 0.05), and they were better in the experimental group than in the control group (|t| > 2.497, Z = -3.091, P < 0.05); the RMS of gluteus maximus and gluteus medius increased in the experimental group (t = -5.900, Z = -2.741, P < 0.01), and were better than those in the control group (t = 3.930, Z = -3.260, P < 0.01). After treatment, the RMS of gluteus maximus and gluteus medius in both groups were positively correlated with gait line length and single support line length, and were negatively correlated with medial-lateral displacement (|r| > 0.502, P < 0.01). ConclusionCore stability training could significantly improve knee joint function and dynamic balance, and enhance the activation of gluteus maximus and gluteus medius. Dynamic balance is highly correlated with sEMG.