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Biomechanics

All articles tagged with #biomechanics

Personalized gait tweaks ease knee osteoarthritis pain, study finds
health5 days ago

Personalized gait tweaks ease knee osteoarthritis pain, study finds

A yearlong randomized trial found that individualized gait retraining—adjusting foot angle by a personalized amount to reduce knee loading—significantly reduced knee pain and slowed cartilage deterioration in medial knee osteoarthritis, with results comparable to pain medications. The six-week training used vibration feedback to help participants maintain their new walking pattern, and after a year participants stayed close to their prescribed angles. While promising, the approach requires specialized gait assessment and is not yet ready for wide clinical use; future delivery could involve wearable sensors or clinic-based PT.

via ScienceDaily|
#biomechanics#foot-progression-angle#gait-retraining
Heartbeats may keep heart cancers rare, study suggests
science1 month ago

Heartbeats may keep heart cancers rare, study suggests

New research suggests the heart’s rhythmic beating creates mechanical strain that suppresses cancer growth in heart tissue. In mouse experiments, non‑beating transplanted hearts rapidly developed cancer, while beating native hearts largely resisted it and restricted cancer to the outer layers; engineered heart tissue that beat only when stimulated with calcium showed a similar pattern. This mechanical effect could help explain why heart tumors are extraordinarily rare in mammals.

via Nature|
#beating#biomechanics#cancer
Stiffer Colon Tissues in Youth Linked to Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer
science2 months ago

Stiffer Colon Tissues in Youth Linked to Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer

UT Dallas and UT Southwestern researchers found that colon tissue from younger colorectal cancer patients is abnormally stiff due to fibrotic collagen, in both tumor and nearby healthy tissue, and experiments with cells on stiff substrates and patient-derived organoids show stiffness promotes faster cancer growth; the study suggests biomechanical forces may contribute to rising cases of early-onset colorectal cancer and could guide future diagnosis and therapy, published in Advanced Science.

via SciTechDaily|
#biomechanics#collagen-remodeling#early-onset-colorectal-cancer
Two-step spinal twist lets cats land on their feet, study finds
science2 months ago

Two-step spinal twist lets cats land on their feet, study finds

A 2026 study shows cats right themselves midair not with a single motion but via sequential trunk rotation: a flexible thoracic spine twists first, followed by a stiffer lumbar spine, enabling reorientation under angular momentum. Cadaver spines revealed the thoracic region has about three times the range of motion of the lumbar region and a thoracic neutral zone around 47 degrees, while lumbar spines had little to no neutral zone. In live tests, two cats dropped from about 1 meter showed the front half rotated about 70–90 milliseconds before the hind half. The researchers caution rib-cage cutting may affect measurements but findings align with earlier work and offer new insight into mammalian locomotion and agility; published in The Anatomical Record (2026).

via ScienceAlert|
#biomechanics#falling-cat#lumbar-spine
Cracks That Build: Mechanical Fractures Shape Embryos and Organs
science2 months ago

Cracks That Build: Mechanical Fractures Shape Embryos and Organs

New research shows that growing tissues crack and reform through controlled, constructive fractures that sculpt embryos and organs—fluid-driven fractures between cells form cavities in mouse zygotes to create the blastocyst, fracture-guided formation of zebrafish heart trabeculae, and similar cracking patterns in elephant skin—revealing physics as a fundamental driver of development and evolution.

via Quanta Magazine|
#biomechanics#development#embryology
Stable Shoes Help Knee OA More Than Flat Flexible Shoes; Hip OA Results Remain Mixed
health3 months ago

Stable Shoes Help Knee OA More Than Flat Flexible Shoes; Hip OA Results Remain Mixed

Two clinical trials show knee osteoarthritis patients benefit more from stable, supportive shoes, reducing walking pain by about 63% over six months compared with flat flexible shoes; flat flexible footwear may lower knee forces but can increase foot pain and did not outperform stability for hip OA. For hip OA, neither shoe type clearly improves hip pain. Older adults should avoid ill-fitting or high heels due to fall risk, while younger individuals not at fall risk should also avoid high heels to minimize joint forces. Consult a healthcare professional for personalized footwear advice and combine choices with exercise and weight management.

via ScienceAlert|
#biomechanics#footwear#health
T. rex Tiptoes Like a Giant Bird, New Study Shows
science3 months ago

T. rex Tiptoes Like a Giant Bird, New Study Shows

A Royal Society Open Science study analyzing T. rex footprints and leg anatomy finds the giant predator walked on its toes with birdlike, quick strides rather than heel-first stomping. Juveniles could reach over 37 ft/s and adults about 20 ft/s, suggesting different hunting behaviors as they aged and reinforcing the link between tyrannosaurs and living birds.

via The New York Times|
#biomechanics#birdlike-locomotion#fossil-footprints
Starfish Walks: Decentralized, Brain-Free Locomotion with Hundreds of Feet
science4 months ago

Starfish Walks: Decentralized, Brain-Free Locomotion with Hundreds of Feet

Sea stars crawl using hundreds of tube feet coordinated by local foot–surface interactions rather than a central brain. By adjusting how long each foot stays adhered, they modulate gait to meet mechanical demands, a finding supported by weight-adding experiments and inverted-walking tests that show the decentralized foot control at work. Researchers visualized foot contact with light-refraction imaging, revealing robust, decentralized strategies for navigating varied terrains.

via ScienceAlert|
#biomechanics#decentralized-control#locomotion