A pivoting elliptical training system for prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries

Knee injuries often occur in pivoting activities but most existing training and rehabilitation devices mainly allow sagittal movements. Thus, a pivoting elliptical training system (PETS) was developed to train and evaluate neuromuscular control in pivoting directions, pivoting neuromuscular control, for prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries. PETS included capabilities of controlling two footplates individually or simultaneously through servomotor controls so that the footplates behaved like two torsional springs, created a slippery surface, or perturbed. Feasibility of PETS to improve pivoting neuromuscular control and neuromechanical properties was demonstrated through experiments on selected healthy individuals. They improved pivoting neuromuscular control in terms of pivoting instability, and reduced reaction time and proprioceptive acuity following training. Thus, PETS can potentially be used as a therapeutic and research tool to investigate underlying mechanisms of pivoting-related injuries and to train human subjects to improve neuromuscular control during risky pivoting movements.