gait stability

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate whether lower limb joints mutually compensate for each other, resulting in motor synergy that suppresses toe vertical position fluctuation, and whether walking speeds affect lower limb synergy. METHODS: Seventeen male university students walked at slow (0.85 ± 0.04 m/s), medium (1.43 ± 0.05 m/s) and fast (1.99 ± 0.06 m/s) speeds on a 15-m walkway while lower limb kinematic data were collected...

[Purpose] The ability to actively adjust walking speed is fundamental and the factors enabling it should be assessed. The present study aimed to demonstrate how active gait speed is kinematically adjusted. [Participants and Methods] Walking acceleration and deceleration were evaluated in 16 healthy adults using three-axis accelerometers and surface electromyographs. The root mean square (RMS) of each axis in the center-of-gravity acceleration was calculated as an index of gait stability. Electron myograph data were obtained from images captured of the right lower muscles, and the integral value of total muscle activity per gait cycle was calculated...

BACKGROUND: Falls are common in older people and individuals with neurological conditions. Parkinson's disease (PD) is known for postural instability causing mobility disabilities, falls and reduced quality of life. The fear of falling (FOF), a natural response to unstable balance, can worsen postural control problems. Evaluating FOF relies largely on affected persons' subjective accounts due to limited objective assessment methods available. The aim of this mixed-methods feasibility study is to develop an assessment method for FOF while in motion and walking within virtual environments...

BACKGROUND: Increased kyphosis is a common condition among older people that may, directly or indirectly, be a risk factor for poor balance and gait. Spinomed and Biofeedback Posture Trainer (BPT) orthoses is an effective treatment approach for hyperkyphosis. This study aimed to compare the immediate effects of the Spinomed and BPT orthoses on balance and gait in the older population. METHODS: A total of 52 volunteer older people with hyperkyphosis (kyphosis angle>40°) participated in this study and were randomly allocated into two groups, to either the Spinomed orthosis (n = 26, mean age = 65...

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of patients with chronic lateral rotational ankle instability(CLRAI) after all-inside arthroscopic lateral ligament augmentation procedure and Broström procedure. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. The clinical and imaging data of 106 CLRAI patients were collected at the Xuzhou Central Hospital from January 2021 to December 2022. The patients included 55 males and 51 females with an age of (32.6±8.2) years (range: 16 to 50 years). All patients were treated under all-inside arthroscopic, and were divided into Broström-Gould surgery group ( n =54) and Broström surgery group ( n =52) according to different ligament repair methods...

FXTAS is a neurodegenerative disorder occurring in some Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1 ( FMR1 ) gene premutation carriers (PMCs) and is characterized by cerebellar ataxia, tremor, and cognitive deficits that negatively impact balance and gait and increase fall risk. Dual-tasking (DT) cognitive-motor paradigms and challenging balance conditions may have the capacity to reveal markers of FXTAS onset. Our objectives were to determine the impact of dual-tasking and sensory and stance manipulation on balance in FXTAS and potentially detect subtle postural sway deficits in FMR1 PMCs who are asymptomatic for signs of FXTAS on clinical exam...

Neurological disorders such as stroke, Parkinson's disease (PD), and severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) are leading global causes of disability and mortality. This study aimed to assess the ability to walk of patients with sTBI, stroke, and PD, identifying the differences in dynamic postural stability, symmetry, and smoothness during various dynamic motor tasks. Sixty people with neurological disorders and 20 healthy participants were recruited. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors were employed to measure spatiotemporal parameters and gait quality indices during different motor tasks...

Objectives and Background : To present a novel technique of treatment for a patient with basilar invagination. Basilar invagination (BI) is a congenital condition that can compress the cervicomedullary junction, leading to neurological deficits. Severe cases require surgical intervention, but there is debate over the choice of approach. The anterior approach allows direct decompression but carries high complication rates, while the posterior approach provides indirect decompression and offers good stability with fewer complications...

Based on real-time detection of plantar pressure, gait recognition could provide important health information for rehabilitation administration, fatigue prevention, and sports training assessment. So far, such researches are extremely limited due to lacking of reliable, stable and comfortable plantar pressure sensors. Herein, a strategy for preparing high compression strength and resilience conductive iongels has been proposed by implanting physically entangled polymer chains with covalently cross-linked networks...

BACKGROUND: Maintaining gait stability is an important factor for preventing falls of normal adults. Thus, it is necessary to conduct research on gait variables in normal adults. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we conducted research on the effect of rhythmic exercise using proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) patterns on gait variables in normal adults. METHODS: Thirty-two subjects were divided into two groups, the training and control groups, with 16 subjects in each group...

The exoskeleton robot is a wearable electromechanical device inspired by animal exoskeletons. It combines technologies such as sensing, control, information, and mobile computing, enhancing human physical abilities and assisting in rehabilitation training. In recent years, with the development of visual sensors and deep learning, the environmental perception of exoskeletons has drawn widespread attention in the industry. Environmental perception can provide exoskeletons with a certain level of autonomous perception and decision-making ability, enhance their stability and safety in complex environments, and improve the human-machine-environment interaction loop...

The use of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for cementless femoral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) components is of interest due to several potential advantages, e.g. the use in patients with metal hypersensitivity. Additionally, the stiffness of PEEK closer resembles the stiffness of bone, and therefore, peri-prosthetic stress-shielding may be avoided. When introducing a new implant material for cementless TKA designs, it is important to study its effect on the primary fixation, which is required for the long-term fixation...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate closer-to-normal knee kinematics following primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed establishing asymmetric gap balancing intraoperatively. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Two age-, sex-, BMI-matched groups of patients underwent medially stabilized TKA because of isolated knee disease. Group A (12 patients) underwent "unrestricted" kinematic alignment (uKA) according to Howell while group B (15 patients) received robot-assisted "simplified" KA (sKA) with an alignment goal (Hip-Knee-Ankle axis-HKA) ± 5° respect to the mechanical axis...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Primary CNS vasculitis (PCNSV) is a rare inflammatory disorder that affects the blood vessels of the central nervous system (CNS). We aimed to analyze the neurological presentations, clinical follow-up, and long-term outcomes of patients with primary central nervous system vasculitis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical records to assess the neurological presentation, rate of remission, and functional status at the last follow-up in patients with primary central nervous system vasculitis seen in our center in the last 13 years (2010-2023)...

A self-powered and durable pressure sensor for large-scale pressure detection on the knee implant would be highly advantageous for designing long-lasting and reliable knee implants as well as obtaining information about knee function after the operation. The purpose of this study is to develop a robust energy harvester that can convert wide ranges of pressure to electricity to power a load sensor inside the knee implant. To efficiently convert loads to electricity, we design a cuboid-array-structured tribo-pizoelectric nanogenerator (TPENG) in vertical contact mode inside a knee implant package...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to systematically review the additional value of providing real-time postural feedback during balance and mobility training in older people. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Web-of-Science were searched from inception to August 2023. Studies comparing the effectiveness of feedback-based versus non-feedback-based postural balance or mobility training on balance or mobility outcomes were selected. Similar outcomes were pooled in meta-analyses using a random-effect model...

Falls among older adults are a costly public health concern. Such falls can be precipitated by balance disturbances, after which a recovery strategy requiring rapid, high force outputs is necessary. Sarcopenia among older adults likely diminishes their ability to produce the forces necessary to arrest gait instability. Age-related changes to tendon stiffness may also delay muscle stretch and afferent feedback and decrease force transmission, worsening fall outcomes. However, the association between muscle strength, tendon stiffness, and gait instability is not well established...

Hip dislocation is one of the leading causes of failure and revision surgery for total hip arthroplasty. To reduce dislocation rates, lipped liners have been designed with an elevated portion of the rim, to increase jump distance and maintain greater contact area. While it has been documented that lipped liners help reduce dislocation, the objective of this study is to investigate whether lipped liners also help reduce smaller instances of hip micromotion, separation, and edge loading. This study uses an advanced three-dimensional preoperative planning tool to analyze 10 patients, each implanted with both a neutral and lipped liner...

BACKGROUND: With the in-depth development of assistive treatment devices, the application of artificial knee joints in the rehabilitation of amputees is becoming increasingly mature. The length of residual limbs and muscle strength of patients have individual differences, and the current artificial knee joint lacks certain adaptability in the personalized rehabilitation of patients. PURPOSE: In order to deeply analyze the impact of different types of artificial knee joints on the walking function of unilateral thigh amputees, improve the performance of artificial knee joints, and enhance the rehabilitation effect of patients, this article combines image processing technology to conduct in-depth research on the walking gait analysis of different artificial knee joints of unilateral thigh amputees...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between clinical outcomes and lateral thrust before and after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) using inertial measurement sensor units. Eleven knees were evaluated with gait analysis. The varus angular velocity was used to evaluate lateral thrust. The femorotibial angle (FTA) and hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA) were used to evaluate lower-limb alignment, and the Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score (JOA) were used to evaluate clinical outcomes...