KRSS would like to recognize Walter Menke on being awarded the International Society of International Biomechanics (ISB) Matching Dissertation Grant. We wish Menke the best on his research!
“The project is aimed at investigating the biomechanical effects of stationary cycling with asymmetric crank lengths in patients before and after their total knee replacement surgery and will be the basis of Walt’s dissertation. We will be quantifying the joint angle and joint moment changes and their potential relationship with pain and rating of perceived exertion. The idea is that the asymmetric crank arms on the replaced knee side will help to alleviate pain and increase comfort during stationary cycling exercise, especially during such an early period after their surgery. Exercise adherence often is a common barrier to ideal rehabilitation outcomes in this population, and this methodology may assist this demographic with their exercise habits if pain is alleviated. Not only are we measuring kinematic and kinetic variables to objectively determine the effects of this acute cycling change, but we are also conducting musculoskeletal modeling with this data. By collecting specific metrics from x-ray data from these patients, we will be able to personalize the musculoskeletal model’s settings according to actual anatomically derived data. By doing so, we can estimate the internal contact forces within the knee during this activity with greater accuracy than the generic model settings. We hope that the use of traditional and computational biomechanics can help to improve the early rehabilitation progress of patients who recently underwent a total knee arthroplasty! This project has been made possible with the help of the Matching Dissertation Grant’s combined $5,000 from the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) and the Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies department at UT.”
-Walter Menke