Annika Kruse

University of Graz | KFU Graz · Institute of Human Movement Science Sport and Health

Adaptive cycling holds potential for promoting physical and mental health among individuals with disabilities, who often face barriers to traditional cycling and other forms of exercise. This scoping review systematically examines existing scientific literature to assess the effects of adaptive cycling on the physical and mental health of individua...

Patellofemoral instability is influenced by morphological factors and associated with compensational alterations in gait pattern. Recent simulation studies investigated the impact of knee morphology on the stability and loading of the patellofemoral joint but neglected the patient-specific gait pattern. The aim of this study was to investigate the...

The use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in sports science has become increasingly important in the past few years (Perrey et al., 2024). One application is to determine thresholds from different NIRS parameters like oxygenated (O2Hb) or deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin to distinguish between hard and severe-intensity exercise (Caen et al., 2018)....

Aim The aim of this observational study was to determine the immune status and function in young adults with cerebral palsy (CP) in comparison to typically developing individuals. Method Blood samples from 12 individuals with CP (five males, seven females; mean age: 25 years 1 month (5 years 9 months); age range: 19–38 years) and 17 typically deve...

Background: Patellofemoral instability influences the gait pattern and activity level in adolescents. However, gait biomechanics to cope with recurrent patella instability and its relation to radiological findings has hardly been studied. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed kinematic and kinetic gait analysis data, magnetic resonance images and...

European College of Sport Science (Hg.): BOOK OF ABSTRACTS. Paris, France. Sportstools. 2023. 929-930. ISBN 978-3-9818414-6-6

European College of Sport Science (Hg.): BOOK OF ABSTRACTS. Paris, France. Sportstools. 2023. 401-402. ISBN 978-3-9818414-6-6

European College of Sport Science (Hg.): BOOK OF ABSTRACTS. Paris, France. Sportstools. 2023. 948-949.

Background: While the effect of static stretching for individuals with cerebral palsy is questionable, recent results suggest that the combination with activation seems promising to improve muscle-tendon properties and function. Therefore, this study analyzed the effects of 8-week proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching on the gastroc...

Aim: Low physical activity alters immune function and increases the risk of developing chronic inflammation. This cross-sectional study aimed at determining the immune status and function in young adults with cerebral palsy (CP) in comparison to typically developing (TD) individuals. Method: Blood samples from 12 individuals with CP and 17 TD were...

Stretching is considered a clinically effective way to prevent muscle contracture development in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Therefore, in this study, we assessed the effects of a single session of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) or static stretching (SS) on ankle joint range of motion (RoM) and gastrocnemius muscle-t...

Identifying potential gait deviations in patellofemoral instability (PI) can help with the development of effective rehabilitation strategies. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine whether there are specific gait alterations in subjects with PI. The present review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was initially registered at PROSPER...

This article explores longstanding links between cycling and disability. Social models of disability and closely related theories on the social construction of technology are central to our approach. The former insists that disability is a social construct; the latter views technology as socially formed. Disabled persons engage in cycling for, amon...

Purpose Human muscle–tendon units (MTUs) are highly plastic and undergo changes in response to specific diseases and disorders. To investigate the pathological changes and the effects of therapeutic treatments, the use of valid and reliable examination methods is of crucial importance. Therefore, in this study, a simple 3D ultrasound approach was d...

Biomechanical and clinical gait research observes muscles and tendons in limbs to study their functions and behaviour. Therefore, movements of distinct anatomical landmarks, such as muscle-tendon junctions, are frequently measured. We propose a reliable and time efficient machine-learning approach to track these junctions in ultrasound videos and s...

Biomechanical and clinical gait research observes muscles and tendons in limbs to study their functions and behaviour. Therefore, movements of distinct anatomical landmarks, such as muscle-tendon junctions, are frequently measured. We propose a reliable and time efficient machine-learning approach to track these junctions in ultrasound videos and s...

Treatment strategies and training regimens, which induce longitudinal muscle growth and increase the muscles’ length range of active force exertion, are important to improve muscle function and to reduce muscle strain injuries in clinical populations and in athletes with limited muscle extensibility. Animal studies have shown several specific loadi...

Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor and movement disability in childhood. The mechano-morphological alterations of the spastic muscle itself as well as the functional limitations in CP are well documented. However, the relationship between muscle tendon properties and functional tests in CP remains unknown. Research question Th...

Spastic cerebral palsy (SCP) affects neural control, deteriorates muscle morphometrics, and may progressively impair functional walking ability. Upon passive testing, gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle bellies or fascicles are typically shorter, thinner, and less extensible. Relationships between muscle and gait parameters might help to understand...

Recording muscle tendon junction displacements during movement, allows separate investigation of the muscle and tendon behaviour, respectively. In order to provide a fully-automatic tracking method, we employ a novel deep learning approach to detect the position of the muscle tendon junction in ultrasound images. We utilize the attention mechanism...

Recording muscle tendon junction displacements during movement, allows separate investigation of the muscle and tendon behaviour, respectively. In order to provide a fully-automatic tracking method, we employ a novel deep learning approach to detect the position of the muscle tendon junction in ultrasound images. We utilize the attention mechanism...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of functional progressive resistance training (PRT) and high-intensity circuit training (HICT) on the mechano-morphological properties of the plantar flexor muscle-tendon unit in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Methods: Twenty-two children (12.8 [2.6] y old, Gross Motor Func...

Following publication of the original article [1], the author requested for an acknowledgement to retrospectively be added to the 'Acknowledgements' section of the article [1].

Objective: Does home-based progressive resistance or high-intensity circuit training improve strength, function, activity, or participation in children with cerebral palsy (CP)? Design: This was the first study on high-intensity circuit training for children with CP. This study was conducted as a randomized prospective controlled pilot study. Setti...

Abstract Background Early detection of changes at the muscular level before a contracture develops is important to gain knowledge about the development of deformities in individuals with spasticity. However, little information is available about muscle morphology in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (CP) without contracture or equinus g...

Background: Recent ultrasound studies found increased passive muscle stiffness and no difference in tendon stiffness in highly impaired children and young adults with cerebral palsy. However, it is not known if muscle and tendon mechanical properties are already altered in highly functional children with cerebral palsy. Therefore, the purpose of t...

Purpose: The major aim of this study was to compare ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of the Achilles tendon cross-sectional area (CSA). Further aims were to conduct reliability analyses and to assess the influence of transducer pressure on the tendon properties in US measurements. Methods: The Achilles tendon CSA...

Single event multilevel surgery (SEMLS) has become a standard intervention for children with cerebral palsy (CP). SEMLS proved to improve the gait in bilateral spastic cerebral palsy and those improvements can be maintained in the long term. However there is no evidence on the long-term outcome of unilateral SEMLS in children with unilateral spasti...

Introduction: Barber et al. [1] reported that active muscle function was reduced, but the mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon (AT) were not altered in young adults with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP) compared to typically developing peers (TD). However, it is not clear if this is also true for children with SCP. Research question: Is there a...

The aim of the current paper was to systematically review the relevant existing electromyographic threshold concepts within the literature. The electronic databases MEDLINE and SCOPUS were screened for papers published between January 1980 and April 2015 including the keywords: neuromuscular fatigue threshold, anaerobic threshold, electromyographic...

COMPARISON OF ULTRASOUND AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING ASSESSMENTS OF THE ACHILLES TENDON CROSS-SECTIONAL-AREA Kruse, A.1, Stafilidis, S.2, Tilp, M.1 1: KFU (Graz, Austria), 2: AU (Thes/niki, Greece) Introduction Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) are established, non-invasive diagnostic tools to evaluate Achilles tendon (...

Background: Reduced muscle strength is an independent risk factor for falls and related to postural instability in individuals with Parkinson's disease. The ability of resistance training to improve postural control still remains unclear. Objective: To compare resistance training with balance training to improve postural control in people with P...