Chiarella Sforza

University of Milan | UNIMI · Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health

Soccer kicking kinematics has received wide interest in literature. However, while the instep-kick has been broadly studied, only few researchers investigated the inside-of-the-foot kick, which is one of the most frequently performed techniques during games. In particular, little knowledge is available about differences in kinematics when kicking w...

Since strictly related to balance and stability control, body center of mass (CoM) kinematics is a relevant quantity in sport surveys. Many methods have been proposed to estimate CoM displacement. Among them, segmental method appears to be suitable to investigate CoM kinematics in sport: human body is assumed as a system of rigid bodies, hence the...

Dribbling speed in soccer is considered critical to the outcome of the game and can assist in the talent identification process. However, little is known about the biomechanics of this skill. By means of a motion capture system, we aimed to quantitatively investigate the determinants of effective dribbling skill in a group of 10 Under-13 sub-elite...

Summary Many conditions can compromise facial symmetry, resulting in an impairment of the affected person from both esthetic and functional points of view. For these reasons, a detailed, focused, and objective evaluation of facial asymmetry is needed, both for surgical planning and for treatment evaluation. In this study, we present a new quantita...

Primary bladder neck obstruction (PBNO) is a frequent under-investigated urological condition in which the bladder neck fails to open adequately during voiding. In the majority of cases no known etiological factor can be found. In this study we propose a new hypothesis to explain the origin of the disease in young male patients with no neurological...

Background Orofacial cleft is the most common craniofacial deformity, resulting in facial anatomical disorders. Aim To evaluate maxillary dental arch symmetry of children with unilateral complete cleft lip, alveolus, and palate before and after primary surgeries. Design A total of 27 dental casts were analyzed: (T1) Presurgical; (T2) Postsurgical...

Background/Objectives: Facial asymmetry is gaining an increasing diagnostic interest in many clinical contexts. Several three-dimensional surface-based methods have been proposed for its assessment; however, they might provide non-equivalent data. Since there is a lack of comparative studies in these terms, this study aims to compare three methods...

This cross-sectional observational study aimed to evaluate and compare facial metrics in women aged 20–65 years using a three-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry system and to establish standardized values for facial metric variations in different age subgroups. This study included 84 Caucasian women divided into two groups based on their age: gr...

The goal of this study was to digitally evaluate the development of maxillary dental arches of children with unilateral cleft lip and palate treated with one- and two-stage palatal closure. One hundred and sixty-eight digitized dental models of cheiloplasty and one-stage palatoplasty (G1) and cheiloplasty and two-stage palatoplasty (G2) were evalua...

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in lip metrics before and after facial rejuvenation treatment with hyaluronic acid-based fillers and to compare them with those of a control group using stereophotogrammetry (3D). This study included 63 Caucasian women divided into Group C (<30 years, n=30) and Group H (>30 years, n=33), which was furth...

Introduction Symmetry is balance, some correspondence in the size, form, and arrangements of parts on opposite sides of a plane, line, or point. The opposite of this concept is asymmetry, or imbalance. Objective This retrospective study compared two methods for assessing arch symmetry with linear measurements based on triangles, to determine their...

Background/Objectives: Three-dimensional (3D) analysis of maxillofacial structures in dysmorphic patients offers clinical advantages over 2D analysis due to its high accuracy and precision in measuring many morphological parameters. Currently, no reliable gold standard exists for calculating 3D volumetric measurements of maxillofacial structures wh...

Whole-body vibration (WBV) may increase musculoskeletal disorder risk among workers standing on vibrating surfaces for prolonged periods. Limited studies were conducted to comprehend WBV impact on individuals engaged in dynamic activities. This study explored the effects of different horizontal WBV frequencies on gait parameters, lower limb kinemat...

This pilot study examines the impact of varied cognitive loads on lower limb biomechanics during landing tasks. Ten male athletes performed a novel motor-cognitive assessment and then a landing task in three conditions with different cognitive loads. Findings suggest cognitive conditions may affect GRF, joint kinematics, and kinetics. Specifically,...

This study aimed to assess and quantify the morphologic characteristics of the lips and the lower third of the face in cleft and noncleft patients, utilizing three-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry. Sixty patients were included in the study, comprising 30 unilateral cleft lip and palate patients (G1, 24 female, 6 male; aged 20 to 60 y, mean age...

This preliminary study investigated the effect of different landing techniques during single-leg drop jumps on knee kinematics of both first and second landing, and jump performance, in order to investigate the conflict between anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention and performance. Participants were asked to execute maximal single-leg...

Objectives: This investigation aimed to assess the optimal timing for lip repair in children with cleft lip and palate via 3D anthropometric analysis to evaluate their maxillofacial structures. Methods: The sample comprised 252 digitized dental models, divided into groups according to the following timing of lip repair: G1 (n = 50): 3 months; G2 (n...

Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term clinical outcomes of zirconia-based prostheses used for tooth-supported or implant-supported single crowns and fixed dental prostheses (FPD). Methods The authors conducted a prospective analysis of 562 zirconia core restorations supported by endodontically treated teeth or titanium implant in...

In forensic commingled contexts, when the disarticulation occurs uniquely at the atlantoaxial joint, the correct match of atlas and axis may lead to the desirable assembly of the entire body. Notwithstanding the importance of this joint in such scenarios, no study has so far explored three-dimensional (3D) methodologies to match these two adjoining...

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in sports often occur with non-contact mechanisms, such as landing and cutting. Previous studies explored the ACL injury biomechanical risk factors through drop-jumps combined with secondary jumps. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the secondary jump direction on first landing kinematic temporal...

Background: Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries are common in soccer and volleyball, occurring during changes of direction and landings. This study aimed to investigate kinematic differences between soccer and volleyball players in single-planar and multiplanar landing tasks, simulating sport-specific injury mechanisms. Since the anter...

Background Women present a higher anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury rate than men, suggesting sex-related biomechanical differences. Task characteristics are often fixed for both sexes, possibly affecting the perceived difficulty. We investigated kinematic sex differences across landing tasks for ACL injury risk assessment, adjusted to partic...

Forensic anthropologists dealing with personal identification (PI) of human remains have recently stressed the need to explore the potential of “secondary identifiers” for identifying victims who died in particular events for whom images often represent the main antemortem data available. Being the face the part most exposed in images, characterist...

Objectives To evaluate the quantitative values of linear and angular facial anthropometrics in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and compare them with those of patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) using three-dimensional (3D) facial imaging. Design Retrospective, observational, and cross-sectional study. Setting...

Purpose: Evaluating the facial esthetics of complete denture (CD) treatment using a 3D analysis of the lower third of the face before (T1) and after (T2) treatment by comparing and correlating measurements. Material and methods: Thirty-one edentulous patients were enrolled, and three-dimensional (3D) images were captured before (T1) and after (T...

Simple Summary Anatomical variants are traits that differ between individuals. The sphenoid bone has numerous variant features, such as foramina and canals, that may be involved in surgical procedures. This study on CT-scan images describes the foramen meningo-orbitale, the foramen of Vesalius, the canaliculus innominatus and the palatovaginal cana...

We proposed 2 monoplanar and 2 multiplanar drop-landing tasks, representing volleyball and soccer injury mechanisms, respectively. Considering the injury rate difference, we hypothesized that volleyball players can adopt safer landing strategies than soccer players, especially in monoplanar tasks. 22 soccer (7 females – 15 males) and 19 volleyball...

Introduction: Facial palsy can severely compromise quality of life, significantly altering the harmony and symmetry of the face, which can be restored by surgical rehabilitation. The quantification of symmetry can be usefully employed to evaluate the aesthetic results. Materials and methods: Fifteen consecutive adult patients were surgically treate...

Knee abduction and hip adduction during functional tasks may indicate increased joint injury risk and discriminate between pathological and healthy people. Muscles’ neuromuscular variables such as amplitude (EMGAMP) and onset (EMGONSET) have been used to explain kinematics. The study aimed to evaluate the correlation between two EMG variables of se...

The human skeleton displays an immense array of traits and variant features that are elements of inter-individual variability. The general assumption is that they may represent individualizing markers for the personal identification of unidentified decedents, but very few works consider them as such. This review provides an overview on the possible...

Purpose: The mental foramen (MF) is important in dental surgery procedures for preventing possible iatrogenic lesions and for anesthetic procedures. This paper aims at expanding knowledge on the metrical characteristics that are useful for the correct anatomical assessment of the MF. Materials and Methods: On 100 CBCT scans (50 males and 50 females...

Paranasal sinuses represent one of the most individualizing structures of the human body and some of them have been already analyzed for possible applications to personal identification, such as the frontal and sphenoid sinuses. This study explores the application of 3D–3D superimposition to maxillary sinuses in personal identification. One hundred...

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effects of the 8-week FIFA 11+ Kids program on kinematic risk factors for ACL injury in preadolescent female soccer players during single-leg drop landing. For this, 36 preadolescent female soccer players (10–12 years old) were randomly allocated to the FIFA 11+ Kids program and control groups (18 playe...

Introduction and purpose: ACL injury is one of the most burdensome injuries in sports [1]. Non-contact ACL injury mechanism includes extended knee, valgus stress, and anterior tibial shear forces [2]. To prevent these injuries, athletes’ biomechanical deficits are often assessed through functional tasks. They often include a single-leg landing foll...

Quantifying in edentulous patients the facial collapse and whether complete conventional denture (CCD) and implant-supported fixed complete denture (ISFCD) can restore the facial proportions to match those of a dentate patient (CG) is relevant for clinical dentists. One hundred and four participants were enrolled and divided into edentulous (n=56)...

Background: Physical fatigue and cognitive performance have been suggested as risk factors for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and fatigue has also been demonstrated to reduce cognitive processing. The combined effects of fatigue and lower cognitive function during cognitive-challenging movements may increase knee mechanics associated...

Introduction and Purpose: Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury (ACL) is one of the most debilitating knee injuries in sports, and 70% of these injuries are caused by a non-contact mechanism. Injuries often occur during single-leg landings characterized by extended lower limb and knee valgus, increasing knee load and anterior tibial shear force. Anatom...

Objectives: The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the accuracy of automated landmarking using deep learning in comparison with manual tracing for cephalometric analysis of 3D medical images. Methods: PubMed/Medline, IEEE Xplore, Scopus and ArXiv electronic databases were searched. Selection criteria were: ex viv...

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of cleft width on dental arch symmetry of children with unilateral cleft lip and palate. Forty-one children were subjected to impression preoperatively (T1; mean age = 0.31 ± 0.07 years) and postoperatively (T2; mean age = 6 .73 ± 1.02 years). Eighty-two digitized dental casts were analyzed by stereophotog...

Reference data on the asymmetry of facial thirds of children is still scarce, although it can offer meaningful comparative information for clinical studies. This study aims to provide reference data on the facial asymmetry of Italian children using a 3D analysis of facial thirds divided according to the trigeminal nerve distribution (upper, middle,...

Introduction: Transsphenoidal surgeries imply the risk of intraoperative lesions to the neurovascular structures surrounding the sphenoid sinus (SS). Aim of the present study is to assess the metrical and morphologic relationships existing between SS and sella turcica (ST). Materials and methods: Two hundred computed tomography-scans of patients...

Context Does lower baseline cognitive function predispose athletes to ACL injury risk, especially when performing unplanned or dual-task movements? Objective To evaluate the association between cognitive function and biomechanics related to ACL injuries during cognitively challenging sports movements. Data Sources PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science...

Virtual anthropology (VA) has recently produced an additional tool for the analysis of commingled remains and is based on the distance analysis between three-dimensional (3D) models of bones. To date, the pair-matching of the innominate bone through a 3D approach remains partially unexplored. Here, 44 abdominal CT scans (22 males and 22 females) we...

In human aging, there are physiological and biomechanical changes that can be related to impairments in physical health, and motor control deficits of older adults. Alterations in the nervous system, muscle-tendon unit, and joint and bone structure and function may affect posture and movement in older adults, starting with mild functional impairmen...

Facial paresis involves functional and aesthetic problems with altered and asymmetric movement patterns. Surgical procedures and physical therapy can effectively reanimate the muscles. From our database, 10 patients (18–50 years) suffering from unilateral segmental midface paresis and rehabilitated by a masseteric-to-facial nerve transfer combined...

Background The three portions of the deltoid muscle (anterior, middle, and posterior) are primary movers of several strengthening exercises and their contribution to different exercises can be measured using surface electromyography. Purpose To systematically review studies that evaluated the activation of commonly used exercises and their variati...

Editorial on the Research Topic Biomechanics, aging, exercise and other interventions Physiological and biomechanical changes observed during human aging are related to several factors, but alterations in physical health and deficits in motor control are among the most frequent. In this Research Topic we collected some investigations describing the...

Purpose: Non-contact Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries often occur during single-leg landings. Injury mechanisms involve adducted hip, extended knee, valgus stress, anterior tibial shear force, increasing knee load. Women present higher ACL injury rate than men, suggesting investigations in sex biomechanical differences through landing func...

Three-dimensional (3D) pair-matching has brought about an innovative approach for the analysis of commingled skeletal remains, and it has been tested on bone models acquired through CT and laser scans. Here, 3D models of 40 innominate bones (20 left and 20 right) of 20 documented male individuals from a cemeterial skeletal collection were acquired...

Purpose Little is known about the mechanism underlying Sacubitril/Valsartan effects in patients with heart failure (HFrEF). Aim of the study is to assess hemodynamic vs. non-hemodynamic Sacubitril/Valsartan effects by analyzing several biological and functional parameters. Methods Seventy-nine patients (86% males, age 66 ± 10 years) were enrolled....

The autologous vascularised free fibula flap is currently considered the best option for facial reconstruction after oncological surgery, but its donor-site morbidity has not been fully examined. The purpose was to evaluate donor-site changes in temporal and spatial kinematic gait parameters during stair climbing, as well as the gait symmetry. Four...

Past investigations provided limited information regarding instep kicking kinematics in soccer. It is unclear how foot dominance and ball approach angle impact whole-body kinematics and consequently the ball velocity. We aimed to analyse the effects of the ball approach angle and the foot used on the whole-body kinematics of soccer players performi...

Although not without subjectivity, the cranial trait scoring method is an easy visual method routinely used by forensic anthropologists in sex estimation. The revision presented by Walker in 2008 has introduced predictive models with good accuracies in the original populations. However, such models may lead to unsatisfactory performances when appli...

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genomic imprinting disorder associated to a complex neurodevelopmental phenotype and a distinctive facial appearance. The study investigated the relationships between the quantitative facial dysmorphism in PWS and clinical and biochemical markers of the disease and its treatment. Methods: Facial...

Introduction: Most non-contact ACL injuries in sports occur during hazardous movements in response to an external and unexpected stimulus, increasing harmful knee mechanics1. Physical fatigue may affect lower limb mechanics related to non-contact ACL injuries2. Lower cognitive ability is associated with biomechanical risk factors for ACL injury dur...

Background Single-leg squats and step-downs are commonly used to assess kinematic variables that may be linked to injuries. Task type and movement speed may influence the outcomes of interest because of different balance requirements. Research question What is the influence of task type and movement speed on lower limb kinematics? Methods This is...

Some diseases impact more on our personal and social life than other ones depending on various aspects [...]

AIM: The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of electric or sonic toothbrushes on periodontal inflammation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized, controlled, one-blind study was conducted. Patients in the test group used sonic toothbrushes (Sonicare FlexCare with ProResults brush head, HX6011, Philips Oral Healthcare Inc, Bothell, Wash), wh...

Functional breastfeeding plays a key role in the correct psychophysical and neuromotor development of a child, and it has repercussions on craniofacial complex growth and functioning. The consequences of not breastfeeding seem to have not only aesthetic complications but can cause significant functional orthodontic repercussions. Each study on brea...

Technological advances in neurosurgery and maxillofacial surgery, aided by improvements in anesthesia have resulted in surgery that is faster, simpler and safer with excellent perioperative recovery. As a result of improved outcomes, several centers are performing certain neurosurgical procedures on an outpatient basis; where patients arrive at the...

AIM: Periodontitis is one of the most common inflammatory and infectious diseases, significantly associated with circulating levels of oxidative stress biomarkers. A network of interacting molecular pathways comprising proinflammatory mediators and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in the progression of periodontitis. The aim of the trial...

AIM: Chemical exogen acids effect can be considered in terms of the loss of hard tissue of teeth or potential loss. When the remineralization does not antagonize the demineralization, the dissolution of hard tissues arises. Significant among physical processes is degeneration in enamel structure due to the chemical processes of acidification and al...

SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause long-standing damage to the immune system characterized by increased inflammatory cytokine activation. Maintaining periodontal health may reduce host susceptibility to COVID-19 and prevent COVID-19 aggravation in infected patients. There is sufficient evidence in the literature to warrant an association between the pr...

Many studies supported the clinical, anatomical and functional relationship between the cranial region, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and the cervical spine; however, the mechanism of this relationship remains unclear, and the relation between temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) and the head and neck posture changes are still controversial. The...

In recent years, chewing has been discussed as producing effects of maintaining and sustaining cognitive performance. It is reported that mastication improves cognitive function by activating cerebral cortical activity, and it is important to demonstrate the cognitive effects of masticatory training using various interventions. Recent studies empha...

Hands-on cadaveric dissection is often considered an important factor in shaping the emotional identity of medical and dental students as healthcare providers. This study explores how demographic and/or experiential factors affect the empathy of students in their pre-clinical year(s) of medical or dental school. In the Summer of 2021 and Fall of 20...