Gait & posture
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The purpose of this study was to explore how origin-insertion length and lengthening velocity of hamstring and psoas muscle change as a result of crouch gait. The second purpose was to study the effect of changes in walking speed, in crouch, on muscle lengths and velocities. Eight healthy female subjects walked on a treadmill both normally and in crouch. ⋯ Decreasing walking speed clearly reduced muscle lengths and lengthening velocities. Therefore, patients with short or spastic muscles are more likely to respond by walking slower than by walking in crouch. Also, differences in walking speed should be avoided as a confounding factor when comparing patient groups with controls.
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Historical Article
The history of gait analysis before the advent of modern computers.
Aristotle (384-322 BCE) can be attributed with the earliest recorded comments regarding the manner in which humans walk. It was not until the renaissance that further progress was made through the experiments and theorising of Giovanni Borelli (1608-1679). Although several scientists wrote about walking through the enlightenment period it was the brothers Willhelm (1804-1891) and Eduard (1806-1871) Weber, working in Leipzig who made the next major contribution based on very simple measurements. ⋯ The team headed by Verne Inman (1905-1980) and Howard Eberhart (1906-1993) made major advances in America shortly after the Second War. David Sutherland (1923-2006) and Jacquelin Perry pioneered clinical applications in America and Jurg Baumann (1926-2000) in Europe. It was not until the advent of modern computers that clinical gait analysis became widely available.
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Increased stride-to-stride variability during walking characterizes gait instability and predicts falling in older adults. Walking while performing cognitive tasks (dual task walking) is also associated with increased risk of falling. The purpose of the study was to examine whether gait velocity and stride-to-stride variability in gait velocity differ in older adults compared with middle-aged and younger adults during normal and dual task walking conditions. ⋯ Variability in stride velocity was increased in older subjects compared with middle-aged and younger subjects (p<0.05). Additionally, in older subjects, impaired walking performance was associated with impaired cognitive performance in dual task walking. The gait changes observed in dual task walking characterize decreased gait stability and indicate that cognitively demanding tasks during walking have a destabilizing effect on gait and may place older people at a greater risk of falling.
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Changes in coordination of postural control during dynamic stance in chronic low back pain patients.
The human postural system operates on the basis of integrated information from three independent sources: vestibular, visual and somatosensory. It is conceivable that a derangement of any of these systems will influence the overall output of the postural system. The peripheral proprioceptive system or the central processing of proprioceptive information may be altered in chronic low back pain (CLBP). ⋯ Control experiments ruled out that increased sway was due to pain interference. In CLBP patients, postural stability under challenging conditions is maintained by an increased sway in AP direction. This change in postural strategy may underlie a dysfunction of the peripheral proprioceptive system or the central integration of proprioceptive information.
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Concerns have been raised regarding the effect of carrying a backpack on adolescent posture and balance, but the effect of backpack loading combined with other factors affecting balance, such as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), has not been determined. This study examines the effects of backpack load on the posture and balance of schoolgirls with AIS and normal controls. The standing posture of 26 schoolgirls with mild AIS (mean age 13, Cobb angle 10-25 degrees ) and 20 age-matched normal schoolgirls were recorded without a backpack and while carrying a standard dual-strap backpack loaded at 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and 15% of the subject's bodyweight (BW). ⋯ Overall, carrying a backpack causes similar sagittal plane changes in posture and balance in both normal and AIS groups. Load size or subject group did not influence balance, but the additive effect of backpack carrying and AIS on postural control alters the risk of fall in this population. Therefore, load limit recommendations based on normal subjects should not be applicable to subjects with AIS.