The effects of light touch on gait and dynamic balance during normal and tandem walking in individuals with an incomplete spinal cord injury.

Autor: Oates AR; College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. alison.oates@usask.ca., Arora T; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA., Lanovaz JL; College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada., Musselman KE; Lyndhurst Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.; Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Spinal cord [Spinal Cord] 2021 Feb; Vol. 59 (2), pp. 159-166. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Jul 09.
DOI: 10.1038/s41393-020-0516-5
Abstrakt: Study Design: Prospective cross-sectional study OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of adding haptic input during walking in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI).
Setting: Research laboratory.
Methods: Participants with iSCI and age- and sex-matched able-bodied (AB) individuals walked normally (SCI n = 18, AB n = 17) and in tandem (SCI n = 12, AB n = 17). Haptic input was added through light touch on a railing. Step parameters, and mediolateral and anterior-posterior margins of stability (means and standard deviations) were calculated. Surface electromyography data were collected bilaterally from the tibialis anterior (TA), soleus (SOL), and gluteus medius (GMED) and integrated over a stride. Repeated measures ANOVAs examined within- and between-group differences (α = 0.05). Cutaneous and proprioceptive sensation of individuals with iSCI were correlated to changes in outcome measures that were affected by haptic input.
Results: When walking normally, adding haptic input decreased stride velocity, step width, stride length, MOS ML , MOS ML _SD, MOS AP , and MOS AP _SD, and increased GMED activity on the limb opposite the railing. During tandem walking, haptic input had no effect; however, individuals with iSCI had a larger step width SD and MOS ML _SD compared with the AB group. Sensory abilities of individuals with iSCI were not correlated to any of the outcome measures that significantly changed with added haptic input.
Conclusions: Added haptic input improved balance control during normal but not in tandem walking. Sensory abilities did not impact the use of added haptic input during walking.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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