| Autor: |
Swinnen, Eva, Baeyens, Jean-Pierre, Van Nieuwenhoven, Johan, Ilsbroukx, Stephan, Michielsen, Marc, Clijsen, R., Goossens, Maggy, Knaepen, Kristel, Meeusen, Romain, Kerckhofs, Eric |
| Přispěvatelé: |
Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, Biomechanics and Human Biometry, Biomechanics, Human Physiology and Special Physiology of Physical Education, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Spine Research Group, Advanced Rehabilitation Technology & Science, Rehabilitation Research, Human Physiology and Sports Physiotherapy Research Group |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2015 |
| Předmět: |
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| Popis: |
Background: Robot-assisted gait rehabilitation has been reported to improve gait- and balance related outcome measures, but it has not been proven that its effect is superior to other gait rehabilitation methods. The trunk and pelvis are important to maintain balance during gait. Despite, scarce research has been reported concerning the importance of the trunk and the pelvis for walking. One of the questions in this context is whether body weight support (BWS) may restrict the movements of the trunk and the pelvis during robot-assisted treadmill walking, consequently leading to insufficient training of the trunk balance. Purpose: The rationales behind this work are: to investigate the influence on trunk and pelvis kinematics (1) of slower walking than normal; (2) of walking with different levels of BWS; and (3) of walking with robot assistance (Lokomat system) at different levels of BWS. Methods: After an acclimatization period (4 minutes), kinematic analyses (Polhemus LibertyTM [240 Hz]) of the trunk and pelvis movements were performed in (1) 15 young and 18 older healthy participants during walking on a treadmill at different speeds (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 kmph); (2) in 14 persons with multiple sclerosis and 14 healthy participants during walking on a treadmill with different levels of BWS (0%, 10%, 20%; 30%, 50% and 70% BWS) and (3) in 17 healthy participants during robot-assisted treadmill walking with the Lokomat-system (0%, 30% and 50% BWS). Descriptive statistics were calculated for baseline patient characteristics; mean, standard deviation and range for continuous variables and frequencies for categorical variables. Statistical analysis consisted of a repeated measures ANOVA with significance level (α) at 5%. Results: Globally, (1) when walking slower than normal on a treadmill, the movements of the trunk and pelvis changed significantly; (2) as compared with walking without BWS, increasing percentages of BWS were accompanied by a significant restriction in trunk and pelvis movements; and (3) duringrobot-assisted treadmill walking with the Lokomat-system complemented with the use of BWS, a decrease in trunk and pelvis kinematics was found as compared with treadmill walking without robot-assistance. Conclusion: It can be concluded that walking on a treadmill at a low speed, with high amounts of BWS or with robot-assistance with the Lokomat-system, leads to significant changes in trunk and pelvis movements. These differences may have an influence on the training of trunk balance during gait rehabilitation. Implications: The results of the current studies should be taken into account in developing gait rehabilitation robots and in gait rehabilitation itself. First, it can be suggested that BWS should be restricted to patients with no or limited trunk control. Furthermore, it is advisable to decrease the amount of BWS beneath 30% as soon as patients are able to carry their own weight. Secondly, for the development of gait rehabilitation robots it is advisable to have the body weight of the person carried by the exoskeleton to avoid the pendulum effect of the BWS system. |
| Databáze: |
OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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