About

Dr. Ajit M.W. Chaudhari is a Professor at the Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and serves as the Director of Faculty and Staff Affairs. He has been a faculty member at Ohio State since 2006. His research primarily focuses on biomechanics of human movement, including balance, gait, and falls, as well as post-surgical rehabilitation. Dr. Chaudhari investigates how the human body functions as a mechanical system to better understand musculoskeletal injuries and conditions, with particular interest in core stability's role in injury prevention and treatment across various populations, including aging individuals, chemotherapy patients, and those with orthopedic or hernia conditions. He has worked with athletes from OSU and professional sports teams, as well as the Ohio State Dance department and BalletMet, and his research has been sponsored by organizations such as the National Football League, NIH, and NSF. Dr. Chaudhari is recognized for his contributions to biomechanics and sports medicine, serving on the Executive Board of the American Society of Biomechanics and as a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation
• Physical therapy
• Orthodontics
• Computer science

Selected publications

• Ornamental Fish Diversity and Scope for its Development in Andhra Pradesh, India

  Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology · 2025-02-25

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Andhra Pradesh is endowed with a wealth of water resources including rivers, canals, reservoirs, ponds and tanks, two large estuarine systems (Godavari and Krishna), backwaters near Kakinada and Visakhapatnam. These water bodies are home to a rich biodiversity of ichthyofauna. Among, these natural resources a diverse and unique group of fishes are found those having economic importance to the aquarium sector. Keeping ornamental fish as a hobby is gaining popularity in the world, hence this sector assumed significant importance in fisheries. The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) was launched in India in the year 2020-21 and implemented for five years, till 2024-25, which has enhanced the ornamental fish production and trade. With the presence of indigenous fishes and a suitable environment for seed production of these ornamental fishes few coastal states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and the North-Eastern states are contributing to this sector in our country. The entrepreneurs in the state are highly focused on the production of food fish activities from both the culture and capture, this might be the reason that the ornamental fish sector has received less attention. Currently, the demand for aquarium fish in the state are largely fulfilled by importing the fish from other states. Approximately 175 numbers of ornamental fish aquarium shops are mainly trading exotic varieties of fishes in the state. With the growing demand for aquarium fish in the domestic and international market, promoting this sector with the setting up of breeding and rearing units in the state may create employment and livelihoods especially in rural and semi-rural areas. Considering the importance of this sector and the presence of favorable environmental conditions for the breeding and rearing of ornamental fishes, the sector has ample scope for development in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Is there a link between physical function testing and ventral hernia size?

  Surgical Endoscopy · 2025-09-29

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Clinical assessments of physical function are widely used to evaluate candidacy and predict outcomes for various procedures. This study investigates the relationship between ventral hernia size and physical function tests. METHODS: A cohort study was performed on prospectively collected data as part of a randomized control trial Pilot Trial of Abdominal Core Rehabilitation To Improve Outcomes After Ventral Hernia Repair (ABVENTURE-P). Patients scheduled for ventral hernia repair were enrolled between 4/2022 and 8/2024. Patients completed the Five Times Sit-to-Stand (5 × STS) and Timed Up & Go (TUG) physical functional tests pre-operatively. Hernia width was then measured at the time of hernia repair. Associations between hernia width and physical function tests were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation tests, and associations between European Hernia Society (EHS) classifications and physical function tests were assessed using one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: A total of 112 patients were evaluated with a mean hernia width of 7 cm (SD 7 cm), classified by EHS as 47% W1, 29% W2, and 24% W3. No significant association was found between 5 × STS scores and hernia size when analyzed as a continuous variable (Spearman's rho = 0.13, p = 0.19) or across EHS classifications (p = 0.12). Similarly, TUG scores showed no significant correlation with hernia size as a continuous variable (Spearman's rho = 0.13, p = 0.16) or across EHS classifications (p = 0.08). CONCLUSION: Physical function test scores alone did not correlate with ventral hernia size in this cohort. Hernia width was not significantly associated with 5 × STS or TUG performance when analyzed as a continuous variable by EHS classification.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Auditory feedback effect on temporal patterns during self-pacing treadmill walking

  PLoS ONE · 2025-11-04

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Self-pacing treadmills provide advantages for assessing locomotion such as having a controlled environment and ability to accurately collect prolonged data, but the variable sounds from the treadmill belt motors when changing speed could provide artificial sensory feedback to walkers that may influence their gait while on the self-pacing treadmill. We hypothesized that temporal measures of gait on a proportionally-controlled self-pacing treadmill would be significantly different between when sound is present vs removed. Participants (n = 31) walked under two different conditions for five-minute periods each on the self-pacing treadmill: one without headphones, and the other with noise-cancelling headphones playing brown noise to mask the treadmill motor sounds. Mixed effects models were used to assess the impact of condition on temporal gait patterns. A custom accelerometer-based algorithm was created to detect gait events while on the treadmill. Significant differences were found in the average values of swing time, step time, and gait speed between the treadmill conditions. These differences between the two treadmill conditions suggest that self-pacing treadmill walkers may utilize the variable belt motor sounds available to them. Given the potential incorporation of auditory feedback for motor planning when walking on the self-pacing treadmill, researchers should consider belt motor sounds as a potential factor that affects gait patterns.

  PublisherDOI

• Anterior–posterior and medial-lateral balance metrics are unchanged when two-dimensional pseudorandom motion perturbations are provided in semicircular canal coordinates

  Frontiers in Neurology · 2025-08-25

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: External continuous perturbations using a motion platform have been developed by employing either sum-of-sines (SoS) or a pseudorandom ternary sequence (PRTS) of numbers to quantify body sway evoked in the medial-lateral (ML) or anterior-posterior (AP) directions, which ultimately helps understand the human postural control system. These stimuli have been provided via pitch tilts of the motion platform for evaluations of AP balance responses or roll tilts for ML balance responses. However, little is known about whether a healthy postural control system responds to 2-dimensional (2D) perturbations similarly when the perturbation stimuli are provided in semicircular canal coordinates (i.e., right-anterior/left-posterior (RALP) and left-anterior/right-posterior (LARP)) versus roll/pitch coordinates. Stimuli provided in either set of coordinates were orthogonal in both time and space. Our 2D platform perturbations provided in RALP/LARP coordinates will have the potential to better assess the contribution of each pair of the vertical semicircular canals to postural control for individuals with dysfunction of the vertical semicircular canals. Methods: To address this knowledge gap, we developed four different balance perturbation trajectories using sum-of-sines (SoS) signals and simultaneously provided those stimuli in (i) roll and pitch, (ii) RALP and LARP, and (iii) roll, pitch, RALP, and LARP dimensions. Center of pressure (CoP) data were collected from 24 healthy participants (40 13 years of age) on a commercially available motion platform (Virtualis Motion VR, Perault, France). A discrete Fourier transform (DFT) was applied to the CoP data to identify responses at perturbed frequencies (i.e., spectral response components). Results: We found that ML and AP postural responses were not significantly different when the platform perturbations were simultaneously provided in RALP/LARP coordinates versus roll/pitch coordinates. Discussion: This finding suggests that our 2D platform perturbations in RALP/LARP coordinates allow us (1) to compare ML and AP responses evoked by RALP and LARP stimuli to existing literature showing those responses evoked by roll and pitch stimuli and (2) to characterize postural responses for individuals with sensory deficits to better isolate contributions of the vertical semicircular canals to postural control.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Do Kinematics or Muscle Function During Sit-to-Stand Change Following a Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty?

  Annals of Biomedical Engineering · 2025-07-21 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Sit-to-stand (STS) transfer is essential for independent living and mobility in daily life but challenging for individuals before and after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). It remains unclear whether deficits in individual muscle function contribute to the lack of improvement in STS performance following TKA. The objective of this study was to determine whether lower extremity kinematics, muscle function during STS (quantified by muscle forces and muscle contributions to acceleration), and knee extension strength change following TKA. Dynamic musculoskeletal simulations of STS were performed for seven individuals before and six months after surgery. Computed muscle control and induced acceleration analysis were used to determine individual muscle forces and contributions to center of mass acceleration, respectively. Overall kinematic strategy did not largely change following TKA, and we found no change in muscle forces, muscle contributions, or knee extension strength following TKA, suggesting a consistent movement strategy to compensate for persistent quadriceps weakness. Both before and after TKA, the psoas, gluteus medius, vastus medialis and lateralis, and soleus produced the largest forces, while the gluteus maximus and biceps femoris produced smaller forces. Large braking contributions to acceleration from several muscles and small gluteus maximus contributions to forward and upward acceleration observed at both time points may contribute to the persistent functional performance deficits often observed in patients with a TKA. These findings demonstrate that overall movement strategy during STS (quantified by kinematics and muscle function) and knee extension strength did not change within six months following TKA, which may inform post-operative rehabilitation programs.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Comparing temporal characteristics of stepping-in-place and overground walking in healthy adults

  Journal of Biomechanics · 2025-10-28

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Design of a clinical balance tool for fall risk assessments: A development and usability study

  PLoS ONE · 2025-02-21

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Falls are a significant source of early morbidity and mortality in the aging population, yet clinical changes that lead to increased fall risks often escape early identification and intervention. A device to measure postural control would facilitate evidence-based fall risk assessment. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to iteratively develop a prototype quantitative posture instrument (QuPI) to replace the weight scale and to assess barriers and facilitators of its implementation in a clinical setting. METHODS: We undertook an iterative formative evaluation and usability study of QuPI prototypes in primary care, medical oncology, sports medicine, cardiology, and endocrinology outpatient clinics. Clinicians evaluated an initial QuPI prototype and completed a semi-structured interview to determine critical functionality, inform design, and assess usability. The QuPI was then modified according to the results, and a new prototype was tested and evaluated. RESULTS: Eighteen clinicians participated in both rounds of interviews. Clinicians who participated (referred to as participants) reported willingness to use the QuPI with all patients during the first round of interviews and stated they would replace their current weight scale with the modified QuPI during the second round of interviews. Participants identified design elements that were both facilitators and barriers to use. Usability scores for both prototypes were excellent. Despite several national guidelines for fall risk assessments, lack of consistent use of guidelines by care teams was found to be a barrier to effective fall risk assessments. CONCLUSION: The QuPI provides a new method for quantifying fall risks with good user acceptance, usability, and clinical feasibility without disrupting workflow. The QuPI supplemented and facilitated the use of standard algorithms for fall risk assessment. Greater education of the entire care team regarding evidence-based fall risk assessment will promote adherence to guidelines and fall prevention.

  PublisherDOI

• Prediction of postural imbalance improvement after surgery for degenerative cervical myelopathy

  Journal of Neurosurgery Spine · 2025-09-12 · 1 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to quantify the perioperative postural imbalance of subjects with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and to identify associated factors. METHODS: This prospective study included consecutive subjects with DCM (n = 70) and cervical radiculopathy (i.e., controls) (n = 20) who were managed surgically according to standard of care guidelines. The DCM and control subjects had similar demographic characteristics. Eligible patients with DCM were 18 years or older with a modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score ≤ 16. Control patients had mJOA score ≥ 17 without signs of myelopathy. All included subjects had a minimum 6-month postoperative follow-up. Postural balance was measured using force plate assessments during quiet upright standing. Specific measures were used to assess the trajectory of the center of pressure (CoP), including the 95% confidence ellipse area (EA), root mean squared CoP excursion (RMSml), and mean CoP velocity (MVEL). Multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with changes in postural balance after surgery. RESULTS: Postoperative assessments revealed significant improvements in EA (p < 0.001), RMSml (p < 0.001), MVEL (p < 0.001), numerical rating scale (NRS) scores for neck pain (p < 0.001), and mJOA scores at both 6 and 12 months (p < 0.001). Multivariate regression showed that baseline balance measures were strong predictors of the degree of postoperative stability improvement (p < 0.001). Baseline NRS scores for neck pain independently influenced postural balance recovery at 6 months (p < 0.05) but not at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The authors' study identified significant improvement in postural balance at 6 and 12 months after decompressive surgery for DCM, particularly in patients with more profound initial imbalance. Baseline postural balance and neck pain both significantly predicted the degree of functional lower extremity recovery, indicating their potential relevance as prognosticating measures.

  PublisherDOI

• Influence of Low Concentration of Paclobutrazol and Its Application Close to the Main Trunk on Fruiting of Mango in Ultra High Density Plantations

  Journal of Experimental Agriculture International · 2024-11-18

  articleOpen access

  Control of flowering and fruiting in mango is achieved by the application of Paclobutrazol (PBZ) in many commercial orchards. However, growers tend to use very high concentrations of the chemical, resulting in high costs of operation and long-term effects. This study examines the impact of low concentrations and varying application methods of PBZ on mango fruit yield in ultra-high-density plantations. Here 3 methods of application and 4 levels of PBZ concentrations (PBZ 23% SC) were tried in a 3 year study. Application of PBZ at N1 (close to the trunk, also termed as collar drench), N2 (20 cm away from the trunk) and N3, (1 m away from the trunk), all resulted in similar number of fruits and fruit weights. Using very low concentrations of PBZ, 4 (0.37 g a.i. /m canopy diameter (cd), 5 (0.46 g a.i. /m cd) and 6 (0.55 g a.i. /m cd) ml/2 liter water, it was found that the lowest 0.37 g a.i. /m cd is enough to get statistically higher fruit yield. These findings: a very low dose of PBZ can result in high productivity and a requirement of least volume of the solution when applied as a collar drench would make the use of PBZ more sustainable and encourage more growers to adopt the hormonal use for mango production.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Utilizing novel sensor to track transient blood pressure changes during sleep

  Sleep Medicine · 2024-02-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Gait and Balance Changes in Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

  NIH · $154k · 2014–2017

• Influence of Core Stability on Running Mechanics in Novice Runners

  NIH · $151k · 2013–2016

Frequent coauthors

• James A. Oñate

  93 shared

• Xueliang Pan

  The Ohio State University

  87 shared

• Thomas M. Best

  University of Miami

  81 shared

• James Borchers

  The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

  61 shared

• Dustin R. Grooms

  Ohio University

  61 shared

• Eric Schussler

  Old Dominion University

  59 shared

• Daniel R. Clifton

  58 shared

• Cambrie Starkel

  55 shared

Labs

• Research LabsPI

Education

• PhD, Mechanical Engineering

  Leland Stanford Junior University

  2003

• MS, Mechanical Engineering

  Leland Stanford Junior University

  1997

• BS, Mechanical Engineering

  Leland Stanford Junior University

  1996

• BS, Biological Sciences

  Leland Stanford Junior University

  1996

Awards & honors

• President, American Society of Biomechanics (2024-2025)
• Friend of PT Award, American Council of Academic Physical Th…
• Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine (2012)
• Semifinalist, Innovation Award – Outstanding Product, TechCo…
• Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society (1996)