Search results for "Gait analysis"

2020

Human movements are characterized by highly non-linear and multi-dimensional interactions within the motor system. Recently, an increasing emphasis on machine-learning applications has led to a significant contribution to the field of gait analysis, e.g., in increasing the classification performance. In order to ensure the generalizability of the machine-learning models, different data preprocessing steps are usually carried out to process the measured raw data before the classifications. In the past, various methods have been used for each of these preprocessing steps. However, there are hardly any standard procedures or rather systematic comparisons of these different methods and their im…

Is the pelvis-thorax coordination a valuable outcome instrument to assess patients with Hip osteoarthritis?

2020

Objective: The evaluation of the disease severity in hip osteoarthritis (OA) patients being currently based on subjective instruments. It would be of interest to develop more objective instruments, for example based on gait analysis. The aims of this study were to explore if pelvis-thorax coordination parameters could be valuable instrument outcomes to achieve this evaluation by assessing their reliability, discriminant capacity and responsiveness. Methods: Three groups of subjects; healthy, hip OA patients with severe disease (defined as indication to surgery), hip OA patients with less severe disease (no indication to surgery) were included. Hip OA patients with severe disease were evalua…

Validity and reliability of the CatWalk system as a static and dynamic gait analysis tool for the assessment of functional nerve recovery in small an…

2017

Introduction: A range of behavioral testing paradigms have been developed for the research of central and peripheral nerve injuries with the help of small animal models. Following any nerve repair strategy, improved functional outcome may be the most important evidence of axon regeneration. A novel automated gait analysis system, the CatWalk™, can measure dynamic as well as static gait patterns of small animals. Of most interest in detecting functional recovery are in particular dynamic gait parameters, coordination measures, and the intensity of the animals paw prints. This article is designed to lead to a more efficient choice of CatWalk parameters in future studies concerning the functio…

Age-Related Adaptations of Lower Limb Intersegmental Coordination During Walking

2019

Lower-limb intersegmental coordination is a complex component of human walking. Aging may result in impairments of motor control and coordination contributing to the decline in mobility inducing loss of autonomy. Investigating intersegmental coordination could therefore provide insights into age-related changes in neuromuscular control of gait. However, it is unknown whether the age-related declines in gait performance relates to intersegmental coordination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of aging on the coordination of lower limb kinematics and kinetics during walking at a conformable speed. We then assessed the body kinematics and kinetics from gait analyses of 84 volunt…

Medial gastrocnemius muscle and tendon interaction during gait in typically developing children and children with cerebral palsy

2020

1. IntroductionEfficient gait is dependent on optimal interaction between musclesand tendons [1]. Pathological changes in the extensibility of the MGmuscle fascicles, whole muscle-belly and Achilles tendon have beenreported in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) [2]. Studying therelative length of these tissues during gait can improve our understandingof their dynamics and, inferably, the control strategies used inCP. In-vivo dynamic ultrasound imaging has been used to visualise theinteraction between the MG muscle and tendon during 3D gait analysis.However, most studies combined ultrasound imaging of one variable(either fascicles or muscle-belly and tendon) with some form ofmusculosk…

Symmetry function in gait pattern analysis in patients after unilateral transfemoral amputation using a mechanical or microprocessor prosthetic knee

2021

AbstractBackgroundAbove-knee amputations (AKAs) contribute to gait asymmetry. The level of asymmetry is affected by the type of knee prosthetic module. There is limited evidence suggesting that more technically advanced solutions (microprocessor modules; MicPK) are superior to less advanced ones (mechanical modules; MechPK). The study aimed to evaluate the variable range of hip and pelvic joint movements during gait and look for differentiating areas with an increased level of asymmetry of the gait cycle in individuals who underwent an AKA and are equipped with MicPK or MechPK.MethodsTwenty-eight individuals participated in the study; 14 were assigned to a study group of individuals who und…

Intra-individual gait patterns across different time-scales as revealed by means of a supervised learning model using kernel-based discriminant regre…

2017

Objective Traditionally, gait analysis has been centered on the idea of average behavior and normality. On one hand, clinical diagnoses and therapeutic interventions typically assume that average gait patterns remain constant over time. On the other hand, it is well known that all our movements are accompanied by a certain amount of variability, which does not allow us to make two identical steps. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in the intra-individual gait patterns across different time-scales (i.e., tens-of-mins, tens-of-hours). Methods Nine healthy subjects performed 15 gait trials at a self-selected speed on 6 sessions within one day (duration between two subsequent ses…

Spatial variability of muscle activity during human walking: The effects of different EMG normalization approaches

2015

Human leg muscles are often activated inhomogeneously, e.g. in standing. This may also occur in complex tasks like walking. Thus, bipolar surface electromyography (sEMG) may not accurately represent whole muscle activity. This study used 64-electrode high-density sEMG (HD-sEMG) to examine spatial variability of lateral gastrocnemius (LG) muscle activity during the stance phase of walking, maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) and maximal M-waves, and determined the effects of different normalization approaches on spatial and inter-participant variability. Plantar flexion MVC, maximal electrically elicited M-waves and walking at self-selected speed were recorded in eight healthy males aged 2…

Benefits of nonlinear analysis indices of walking stride interval in the evaluation of neurodegenerative diseases.

2021

Indices characterising the long-range temporal structure of walking stride interval (SI) variability such as Hurst exponent (H) and fractal dimension (D) may be used in addition to indices measuring the amount of variability like the coefficient of variation (CV). We assess the added value of the former indices in a clinical neurological context. Our aim is to demonstrate that they provide a clinical significance in aging and in frequent neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Indices assessing the temporal structure of variability are mainly dependent on SI time series length and algorithms used, making quantitative comparisons…

Effect of custom-made and prefabricated insoles on plantar loading parameters during running with and without fatigue.

2014

Controversy exists whether custom-made insoles are more effective in reducing plantar loading compared to prefabricated insoles. Forty recreational athletes ran using custom-made, prefabricated, and the original insoles of their running shoes, at rest and after a fatigue run. Contact time, stride rate, and plantar loading parameters were measured. Neither the insole conditions nor the fatigue state modified contact time and stride rate. Addressing prevention of running injuries, post-fatigue loading values are of great interest. Custom-made insoles reduced the post-fatigue loading under the hallux (92 vs. 130 kPa, P0.05), medial midfoot (70 vs. 105 kPa, P0.01), and lateral midfoot (62 vs 96…