Gait & Posture

BACKGROUND: Gait and cognition are closely associated in Parkinson's disease (PD), with specific cognitive domains being associated with different motor symptoms. By identifying gait parameters affected by cognition, clinicians can develop targeted interventions that address cognitive impairment, improve gait, and reduce the risk of injury in PD patients. RESEARCH QUESTION: What gait parameters are affected by cognition in PD patients during dual-task walking, and how are these parameters related to cognitive function as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)? METHODS: 36 patients with available gait data and cognitive assessments were enrolled...

BACKGROUND: Assessing postural control is important for the assessment of motor function after concussion. Data used for postural control assessment typically do not take the sport played, age, or sex of the athlete into consideration. It is plausible these variables may be significant when making return-to-play decisions. RESEARCH QUESTION: This study used the BTrackS database to examine differences in postural control in athletes playing different types of sports and across sex and age...

BACKGROUND: Post-ACLR individuals can experience repeated exposure to variable limb loading, which contributes to development of knee osteoarthritis. Variable limb loading can present as loading rate variability (LRV) and is magnified during tasks like fast walking when the system is stressed. Nonlinear measures that evaluate temporal variability have successfully detected changes in gait variability associated with altered motor control, however, appropriately describing and uncovering the nature of gait variability has been challenging...

BACKGROUND: Crouch gait, or flexed knee gait, represents a common gait pattern in patients with spastic bilateral cerebral palsy (CP). Distal femoral extension and/or shortening osteotomy (DFEO/DFSO) and patellar tendon advancement (PTA) can be considered as viable options when knee flexion contractures are involved. Better outcomes have been reported after a combination of both, independently of the presence of knee extensor lag. In this study, we evaluated the clinical and kinematic outcomes of these procedures...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the effects of functional improvement in the upper extremity on gait and balance in children with upper extremity affected. RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the effects of functional improvement in the upper extremity on gait and balance in children with upper extremity affected? METHODS: Eighteen children with a diagnosis of rheumatologic diseases and 15 healthy children were evaluated with Shriners Hospital Upper Extremity Assessment, Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test, Abilhand Rheumatoid Arthritis Scale, 10-meter walk test and Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire...

BACKGROUND: Insufficient rigidity of the foot owing to its ligaments and muscles can decrease the attenuation of the ground reaction force during landing. Therefore, dysfunction of the ankle invertors may increase the proximal joint load during landing. RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the effects of the fatigued ankle invertors on workload in the lower extremity joints during single-leg landing? METHODS: Twenty-seven young adults (13 men and 14 women) performed landing trials in the forward and medial directions before and after exercise-induced fatigue of the ankle invertors...

BACKGROUND: Backward walking is an indispensable component of activities of daily living. The backward walk test has been used to assess balance, mobility, and fall risk in different populations. This systematic review aimed to identify and synthesize measurement properties of the backward walk test in people with balance and mobility deficits. METHODS: Three bibliographic databases, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus, were searched on June 18th, 2023. Cross-sectional or cohort studies assessing the measurement properties (reliability, validity, responsiveness) of the backward walk test were included...

BACKGROUND: In patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA), medial meniscus extrusion during gait is aggravated by mechanical stress, such as knee adduction moment (KAM). Conversely, the decrease in the range of knee rotation during stance phase is also one of the important issues in early knee OA, whereas the correlation between medial meniscus extrusion and knee rotation during gait are unclear. RESEARCH QUESTION: To investigate the correlation between increase in medial meniscus extrusion and range of knee rotation during gait in patients with early- and late-stage of knee OA...

BACKGROUND: People with degenerative cervical myelopathy are known to have impaired standing balance and walking abilities, but less is known about balance responses during walking. RESEARCH QUESTION: The aim of this project was to assess reactive balance impairments during walking in people with degenerative cervical myelopathy (PwDCM). We hypothesized that center of mass motion following perturbations would be larger in PwDCM and gluteus medius electromyographic amplitude responses would be decreased in PwDCM...

BACKGROUND: Previous research on the accuracy of mobile measurement systems has focused on parameters related to the whole gait cycle. Specifically, bilateral gait characteristics were primarily used as outcome measures. RESEARCH QUESTION: How accurate are unilateral gait characteristics detected using a mobile system at various fixed walking speeds? METHODS: Gait analysis during treadmill walking at velocities (VEL) of 2.5 (v1), 4.5 (v2) and 6...

BACKGROUND: Leg length discrepancy (LLD) is common in youth and is cause by several conditions. Long leg X-rays is the gold standard technique of measuring LLD. It is highly accurate and reliable compared to clinical method, but expose the subject to radiation. Instrumented Gait Analysis (IGA) serves not only as a means to measure joint kinematics during gait but also as a valuable tool for assessing Leg Length Discrepancy (LLD) while standing. RESEARCH QUESTION: The purpose of this study was to compare different methods of determining the LLD in paediatric population...

BACKGROUND: Upright quiet stance is maintained through the complex integration of sensory information from the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems [1]. Virtual reality (VR) is a well-established tool that has been used to study sensory contributions to balance and induce visual perturbations. Previous assessments of virtual environments have suggested that VR can be used to create various visual stimuli that affect balance [2]; however, there is limited work examining which dynamic visual stimulus, in the form of circular vection (CV), is the most effective at inducing whole body lean...

BACKGROUND: Gait classification is a clinically helpful task performed after a stroke in order to guide rehabilitation therapy. Gait disorders are commonly identified using observational gait analysis in clinical settings, but this approach is limited due to low reliability and accuracy. Data-driven gait classification can quantify gait deviations and categorise gait patterns automatically possibly improving reliability and accuracy; however, the development and clinical utility of current data driven systems has not been reviewed previously...

OBJECTIVE: To study the body posture characteristics when walking with trolley case, and to explore the effects of different usage methods and weights of trolley case on body posture characteristics. METHODS: Fifteen subjects pushed and pulled(Condition 1 and 2) the case with three load weights of 10 %, 20 % and 30 % of their own body weight with 0 % no load as baseline for both conditions. The basic gait parameters, kinematic and kinetic data were collected using the VICON infrared motion capture system and a 3D force platform...

BACKGROUND: Gait adaptability training programs to prevent falls in healthy older adults can be proposed in virtual reality. The development of training programs requires the characterization of the target population. RESEARCH QUESTION: Before proposing an innovative training program to develop gait adaptability behavior of healthy older adults in fully immersive virtual reality, we had to compare gait adaptability behavior between healthy older adults and young adults in virtual reality...

BACKGROUND: A common gait retraining goal for runners is reducing vertical ground reaction force (GRF) loading rates (LRs), which have been associated with injury. Many gait retraining programs prioritize an internal focus of attention, despite evidence supporting an external focus of attention when a specific outcome is desired (e.g., LR reduction). RESEARCH QUESTION: Does an external focus of attention (using cues for quiet, soft landings) result in comparable reductions in LRs to those achieved using a common internal focus (forefoot striking while barefoot)? METHODS: This observational study included 37 injured runners (18 male; mean age 36 (14) years) at the OMITTED Running Center...

BACKGROUND: Similar impact on proprioception has been observed in participants with lumbar delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and chronic low back pain (LBP), raising questions about the relevance of lumbar DOMS as a suitable pain model for LBP when assessing back pain-related postural stability changes. RESEARCH QUESTION: Does lumbar DOMS impact postural stability? METHODS: Twenty healthy adults participated in this experimental study and underwent a posturographic examination before and 24 to 36 h after a protocol designed to induce lumbar DOMS...

BACKGROUND: Children with hypermobility spectrum disorder/hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (HSD/hEDS) have a high prevalence of chronic pain, which may influence gait dynamics. However, little is known about pain outcomes and their association with gait spatiotemporal parameters in children with HSD/hEDS. RESEARCH QUESTION: Does pain correlate with gait spatiotemporal parameters in children with HSD/hEDS? METHODS: Eighteen children with HSD/hEDS and eighteen typically developing (TD) children participated in the study...

BACKGROUND: Foot orthoses (FOs) are often prescribed by clinicians to treat foot and ankle conditions, prevent running injuries, and enhance performance. However, the lack of higher-order synthesis of clinical trials makes it challenging for clinicians to adopt an evidence-based approach to FOs' prescriptions. RESEARCH QUESTION: Do FOs with different modifications alter lower extremity running kinematics and kinetics? METHODS: A systematic search of seven databases was conducted from inception to February 2023...

BACKGROUND: Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition where the femoral head-neck junction collides with the acetabulum. Open or arthroscopic treatment of FAI aims to increase hip motion while reducing impingement during passive or dynamic movements. RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the biomechanical characteristics of the hip and pelvis in adolescents and young adults diagnosed with FAI syndrome 1) pre-operatively compared to controls and 2) pre- to post-operatively? METHODS: 43 patients with FAI and 43 controls were included in the study...