Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Basic Science

Background: Walking is a popular, convenient, and relatively safe form of exercise. It has long been used by both fitness and rehabilitation professionals to improve cardiovascular fitness and to rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries. Humans generally learn to walk and run in a forward direction with little difficulty. While the ability to move backward is necessary for normal daily activities and allows the body to accommodate various tasks. Purpose of this study: to compare between forward and backward gait on isokinetic peak torque and H/Q ratio of Quadriceps and Hamstring muscles and their effect on knee proprioception. Subjects and methods: Thirty normal subjects (15 males and 15 females). Their mean age, height, weight and BMI were (21.73±1.87) years, (163.47±6.49) cm, (63.47± 4) kg and (23.79±1.57) kg/m2 respectively participated in this study. They were classified into two groups of equal number. Group (A) walked on treadmill in forward direction while Group (B) walked in backward direction. Each subject walked 15 minutes, 3 times/ week for 6 weeks. They were assessed using Biodex system 3 Pro isokinetic dynamometer to measure the peak torque of Quadriceps and Hamstring muscles in concentric mode at two angular velocities (60 and 180{u00B0}/sec) and measure the knee joint proprioception accuracy

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