New assistive walker improved local dynamic stability in young healthy adults

Bo Eitel Seiferheld, Jeppe Frost, Christian Andersen, Afshin Samani*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
49 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effect of walker type on gait pattern characteristics comparing normal gait (NG), gait with a regular walker (RW), and gait with a newly developed walker with vertical moveable handlebars, the Crosswalker (CW). Partial weight bearing (PWB) of the feet, peak joint angles and largest Lyapunov exponent (λmax) of the lower extremities (hip, knee, ankle) in the sagittal plane, and gait parameters (gait velocity, stride length, cadence, stride duration) were determined for 18 healthy young adults performing 10 walking trials for each walking condition. Assistive gait with the CW improved local dynamic stability in the lower extremities (hip, knee, ankle) compared with RW and was not significantly different from NG. However, peak joint angles and stride characteristics in CW were different from NG. The PWB on the feet was lower with the RW (70.3%) compared to NG (82.8%) and CW (80.9%). This improved stability may be beneficial for the elderly and patients with impaired gait. However, increased PWB is not beneficial for patients during the early stages of rehabilitation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102441
JournalJournal of Electromyography and Kinesiology
Volume53
ISSN1050-6411
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2020

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