Dr. Jae Shim has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin) titled "Biomechanical Model to Examine Running in people with Lower Extremity Amputation." Synopsis: The recent developments in running-specific prostheses (RSPs) have attracted many individuals with low-extremity amputations (ILEA) to running for cardiovascular exercise, and it is likely that the cardiovascular benefits of running reported in previous studies can generalize to ILEA. However, the impact forces and mechanical adaptations of running with an RSP may put this group at risk for physical injuries and degenerative joint diseases. This NIH-funded project proposes to assess these risks by measuring the force transmission through the lower extremities and biomechanical adaptations of ILEA running with RSPs using individualized biomechanical models developed and validated in Dr. Shim's Neuromechanics Lab.
