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Compared to rodents, sheep offer several attractive features as an experimental model for testing different medical and surgical interventions related to pathological gait caused by neurological diseases and injuries. To use sheep for development of novel treatment strategies in the field of neuroscience, it is key to establish the relevant kinematic features of locomotion in this species. To use sheep for development of novel treatment strategies in the field of neuroscience, it is crucial to understand fundamental baseline characteristics of locomotion in this species. Despite their relevance for medical research, little is known about the locomotion in the ovine model, and next to nothing about the three-dimensional (3D) kinematics of the hindlimb. This study is the first to perform and compare two-dimensional (2D) and 3D hindlimb kinematics of the sagittal motion during treadmill walking in the ovine model. Our results show that the most significant differences took place throughout the swing phase of the gait cycle were for the distal joints, ankle and metatarsophalangeal joint, whereas the hip and knee joints were much less affected. The results provide evidence of the inadequacy of a 2D approach to the computation of joint kinematics in clinically normal sheep during treadmill walking when the interest is centered on the hoof's joints. The findings from the present investigation are likely to be useful for an accurate, quantitative and objective assessment of functionally altered gait and its underlying neuronal mechanisms and biomechanical consequences.

Background: Analysis of locomotion is often used as a measure for impairment and recovery following experimental peripheral nerve injury. Compared to rodents, sheep offer several attractive features as an experimental model for studying peripheral nerve regeneration. There are no studies on locomotion outcomes after peripheral nerve injury and repair in the sheep model. In the present study, we performed and compared two-dimensional (2D) and, for the first time, three-dimensional (3D) hindlimb kinematics during obstacle avoidance in the ovine model. This study aimed to obtain kinematic data to serve as a template for an objective assessment of the ankle joint motion in future studies of common peroneal nerve (CP) injury and repair in the ovine model. Results: The strategy used by the sheep to bring the hindlimb over a moderately high obstacle, set to 10% of its hindlimb length, was the pronounced knee, ankle and metatarsophalangeal flexion when approaching and clearing the obstacle. Despite the overall time course kinematic patterns about the hip, knee, ankle, and metatarsophalangeal were identical, we found significant differences between values of the 2D and 3D joint angular motion. Conclusions: Our results show that the most apparent changes that occurred during the gait cycle were for the ankle and metatarsophalangeal joints, whereas the hip and knee joints were much less affected. Data and techniques described here are likely to be useful for an objective assessment of altered gait after CP injury and repair in an ovine model.

Analysis of locomotion is often used as a measure for impairment and recovery following experimental peripheral nerve injury. Compared to rodents, sheep offer several advantages for studying peripheral nerve regeneration. In the present study, we compared for the first time, two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) hindlimb kinematics during obstacle avoidance in the ovine model. This study obtained kinematic data to serve as a template for an objective assessment of the ankle joint motion in future studies of common peroneal nerve (CP) injury and repair in the ovine model. The strategy used by the sheep to bring the hindlimb over a moderately high obstacle, set to 10% of its hindlimb length, was pronounced knee, ankle and metatarsophalangeal flexion when approaching and clearing the obstacle. Despite the overall time course kinematic patterns about the hip, knee, ankle, and metatarsophalangeal were identical, we found significant differences between values of the 2D and 3D joint angular motion. Our results showed that the most apparent changes that occurred during the gait cycle were for the ankle (2D-measured STANCEmax: 157±2.4 degrees vs. 3D-measured STANCEmax: 151±1.2 degrees; P<.05) and metatarsophalangeal joints (2D-measured STANCEmin: 151±2.2 degrees vs. 3D-measured STANCEmin: 162 ± 2.2 degrees; P<.01 and 2D-measured TO: 163±4.9 degrees vs. 3D-measured TO: 177±1.4 degrees; P<.05), whereas the hip and knee joints were much less affected. Data and techniques described here are useful for an objective assessment of altered gait after CP injury and repairin an ovine model.

INTRODUCTION: There are limitations in the teaching and training of the musculoskeletal exam for the general practitioner, but two screening tools have become available in recent years. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate feasibility and concordance of two musculoskeletal screening tools, the 12-item questionnaire for early arthritis detection of (DPA-12) and the musculoskeletal examination pGALS (pediatric, gait, arms, legs and spine), in the same patient, during the routine practice. METHODS: Participants between 5 and 18 years of age were examined by a trained resident, performing pGALS maneuvers and applying DPA-12 for parents. The diagnoses, descriptive analysis and scores were analyzed, categorizing the pGALS maneuvers as normal or abnormal and DPA-12 scores greater or lower than six. The internal consistency was calculated by Cronbach alpha coefficient and the correlation between categorical measures by kappa statistics. RESULTS: Sixtyseven participants were included, 40 (59.7%) were boys. Forty (59.7%) had at least one abnormal pGALS manoeuver. The diagnoses were classified as musculoskeletal (juvenile idiopathic arthritis and connective tissue diseases, flat feet, hypermobility syndrome, mechanical limb pain) and nonmusculoskeletal (cellulitis and constipation). There were 65 valid questionnaires, 21 (32.3%) scored greater or ecqual to 6, indicating higher probability of musculoskeletal diagnoses. The internal consistency scoreswere 0.79 and 0.87, respectively. The comparison of normal and abnormal variables results, resulted in low agreement by the Cohen kappa coefficient (0.31). CONCLUSION: The application of both tools in the same patients performed well, showing simplicity and feasibility, for identifying functional or structural abnormalities, regardless of the diagnosis. In practice, both tools may be useful and complementary for screening.