A Pivoting Elliptical Training System for Improving Pivoting Neuromuscular Control and Rehabilitating Musculoskeletal Injuries

Knee injuries often occur in pivoting activities but most existing training and rehabilitation devices mainly involve sagittal movements. A pivoting elliptical training system (PETS) was developed to train and evaluate neuromuscular control in pivoting for the purposes of prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries. The PETS have capabilities of controlling two footplates individually or simultaneously through servomotor control so that the footplates behave like two torsional springs with adjustable offset and stiffness, slippery surface, or under external perturbations. Feasibility of the PETS in improving pivoting neuromuscular control and pivoting neuromechanical properties was demonstrated through experiments on healthy subjects, with reduced pivoting instability and reaction time, and improved proprioceptive acuity following training. The PETS can potentially be used as a therapeutic and research tool to investigate mechanisms underlying pivoting-related injuries and train human subjects for improving neuromuscular control during risky pivoting activities.