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Human Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Exercise and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 March 2023) | Viewed by 11675

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Dr. Yosra Cherni

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
2. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Québec City, QC G1M 2S8, Canada
Interests: biomechanics; neuroscience; clinical gait analysis; neurorehabilitation; assistive robotics; orthoses and protheses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gait Analysis is the process by which information is collected to fully understand the cause of gait abnormalities and to implement an intervention plan tailored to the patient limitations and goals. Gait can be recorded by a variety of technologies, including marker-based or marker-less systems or sensors, force plates, electromyography, etc. Indeed, these tools allow clinicians to obtain a quantitative assessment of motion of patients, supporting them in so-called clinical decision making to implement optimal intervention. This Special Issue aims to provide evidence of the phenomena that lie at the crossroads of dynamic motions, gait analysis, and motor control to implement gait rehabilitation.

Original research, reviews, and brief papers are welcome to this Special Issue. All articles will be subject to peer review to ensure quality publications.

This Special Issues includes but is not limited to the following topics:

Kinematics and kinetics in gait analysis;
Electromyography (EMG) in gait analysis;
Inertial measurement units (IMU) in gait analysis;
Machine learning for gait analysis and rehabilitation;
Walking with prostheses, exoskeletons, and other assistive devices.

Dr. Yosra Cherni
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

biomechanics
gait analysis
modeling
wearable inertial systems
electromyography
posture
function
rehabilitation

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Determination of Assistance-as-Needed Support by an Ankle–Foot Orthosis for Patients with Foot Drop

by David Scherb, Patrick Steck, Iris Wechsler, Sandro Wartzack and Jörg Miehling

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(17), 6687; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20176687 - 30 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1579

Abstract

Patients who suffer from foot drop have impaired gait pattern functions and a higher risk of stumbling and falling. Therefore, they are usually treated with an assistive device, a so-called ankle–foot orthosis. The support of the orthosis should be in accordance with the motor requirements of the patient and should only be provided when needed, which is referred to as assistance-as-needed. Thus, in this publication, an approach is presented to determine the assistance-as-needed support using musculoskeletal human models. Based on motion capture recordings of multiple subjects performing gaits at different speeds, a parameter study varying the optimal force of a reserve actuator representing the ankle–foot orthosis added in the musculoskeletal simulation is conducted. The results show the dependency of the simulation results on the selected optimal force of the reserve actuator but with a possible identification of the assistance-as-needed support required from the ankle–foot orthosis. The required increase in support due to the increasing severity of foot drop is especially demonstrated with the approach. With this approach, information for the required support of individual subjects can be gathered, which can further be used to derive the design of an ankle–foot orthosis that optimally assists the subjects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation)

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25 pages, 6949 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inertial Sensor Location for Ground Reaction Force and Gait Event Detection Using Reservoir Computing in Gait

by Sara Havashinezhadian, Laurent Chiasson-Poirier, Julien Sylvestre and Katia Turcot

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3120; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043120 - 10 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1603

Abstract

Inertial measurement units (IMUs) have shown promising outcomes for estimating gait event detection (GED) and ground reaction force (GRF). This study aims to determine the best sensor location for GED and GRF prediction in gait using data from IMUs for healthy and medial knee osteoarthritis (MKOA) individuals. In this study, 27 healthy and 18 MKOA individuals participated. Participants walked at different speeds on an instrumented treadmill. Five synchronized IMUs (Physilog^®, 200 Hz) were placed on the lower limb (top of the shoe, heel, above medial malleolus, middle and front of tibia, and on medial of shank close to knee joint). To predict GRF and GED, an artificial neural network known as reservoir computing was trained using combinations of acceleration signals retrieved from each IMU. For GRF prediction, the best sensor location was top of the shoe for 72.2% and 41.7% of individuals in the healthy and MKOA populations, respectively, based on the minimum value of the mean absolute error (MAE). For GED, the minimum MAE value for both groups was for middle and front of tibia, then top of the shoe. This study demonstrates that top of the shoe is the best sensor location for GED and GRF prediction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation)

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14 pages, 2795 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Transtibial Prosthesis Type on Lower-Body Gait Adaptation: A Case Study

by Yosra Cherni, Simon Laurendeau, Maxime Robert and Katia Turcot

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010439 - 27 Dec 2022

Viewed by 2467

Abstract

Gait parameters are altered and asymmetrical in individuals with transtibial amputation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of four different prosthetic feet on lower-limb biomechanics during gait. A 34-year-old man with transtibial amputation performed four gait analysis sessions with four foot–ankle prostheses (Variflex, Meridium, Echelon, and Kinterra). Kinematic and kinetic parameters and gait symmetry were analyzed in different prosthetic conditions. The type of prosthesis had little effect on the participant’s spatiotemporal parameters. Throughout the stance phase, increased hip angle, reduced knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion were observed in the amputated leg. For kinetic parameters, reduced propulsive force (SI = 0.42–0.65), reduced knee extension moment (mainly during Echelon and Kinterra conditions, SI = 0.17 and 0.32, respectively), and increased knee abduction moment (mainly during the Variflex and Meridium, SI = 5.74 and 8.93, respectively) were measured in the amputated leg. Lower support moments were observed in the amputated leg as compared to the unaffected leg, regardless of the type of prosthesis (SI = 0.61–0.80). The prostheses tested induced different lower-limb mechanical adaptations. In order to achieve the clinical goal of better gait symmetry between lower limbs, an objective gait analysis could help clinicians to prescribe prosthetic feet based on quantitative measurement indicators to optimize gait rehabilitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation)

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7 pages, 319 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Load Carriage on Postural Sway and Relative Ground Reaction Forces in Special Police Officers: A Cross-Sectional Study

by Mario Kasović, Tomaš Vespalec and Lovro Štefan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16710; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416710 - 13 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1250

Abstract

Although excessive load carriage results in biomechanical gait changes, little evidence has been provided regarding its impact on postural sway. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to determine whether heavier loads have effects on changing foot stability and postural sway in special police officers. Thirty male special police officers (age = 40 ± 6 years, height = 180 ± 5 cm, weight = 89 ± 8 kg) were assessed in four conditions: (1) carrying no load, (2) carrying a 5 kg load, (3) carrying a 25 kg load, and (4) carrying a 45 kg load. Foot characteristics during standing were assessed with Zebris pedobarographic pressure platform. Heavier loads increased the center of pressure (COP) path length and average velocity, length of minor and major axis, and 95% confidence ellipse area, while a decrease in angle between Y and major axis was observed. Relative forces beneath the left forefoot and right backfoot regions decreased and an increase in relative forces beneath the left backfoot and right forefoot was observed. When carrying heavy loads, static foot parameters rapidly changed, especially in COP path length and average velocity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation)

10 pages, 1312 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Flat Running Shoes on Hip Kinematics in Male Recreational Runners

by Masen Zhang, Jing Cui and Hui Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16473; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416473 - 8 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1706

Abstract

Patellofemoral joint pain and iliotibial band syndrome are very common running−related injuries. Excessive contralateral pelvic drop, hip adduction, and hip internal rotation have been suggested to be associated with the two injuries. The purpose of this repeated measures and the cross−sectional study was to investigate the effect of flat running shoes on these kinematic variables compared with that of conventional running shoes with a 10 mm drop. Eighteen male recreational runners were recruited to run in flat shoes and conventional shoes with a 10 mm drop, in random order. Impact force data and lower extremity kinematics were synchronously obtained using two Kistler force plates and eight motion infrared cameras, whereas differences in the impact force and hip kinematics were compared using statistical parametric mapping. Regarding hip kinematics, the hip flexion (p = 0.004) and adduction angles (p = 0.004) decreased significantly at 30–70% and 62–85% of the stance phase, respectively, while wearing flat running shoes; the contralateral pelvic drop angle (p = 0.001) decreased significantly at 31–75% of the stance phase while wearing flat running shoes. The knee internal rotation angle (p = 0.035) decreased significantly at 8–17% of the stance phase while wearing flat running shoes compared with conventional running shoes. Given that these kinematic variables are associated with patellofemoral joint pain and iliotibial band syndrome, flat running shoes may have potential benefits for the prevention or treatment of knee injuries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation)

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Review

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19 pages, 917 KiB

Open AccessReview

Corticospinal Responses Following Gait-Specific Training in Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review

by Yosra Cherni, Alexia Tremblay, Margaux Simon, Floriane Bretheau, Andréanne K. Blanchette and Catherine Mercier

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 15585; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315585 - 24 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1769

Abstract

Corticospinal excitability is subject to alterations after stroke. While the reversal of these alterations has been proposed as an underlying mechanism for improved walking capacity after gait-specific training, this has not yet been clearly demonstrated. Therefore, the objective of this review is to evaluate the effect of gait-specific training on corticospinal excitability in stroke survivors. We conducted an electronic database search in four databases (i.e., Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science) in June 2022. Two authors screened in an independent way all the studies and selected those that investigated the effect of gait-specific training on variables such as motor-evoked potential amplitude, motor threshold, map size, latency, and corticospinal silent period in stroke survivors. Nineteen studies investigating the effect of gait-specific training on corticospinal excitability were included. Some studies showed an increased MEP amplitude (7/16 studies), a decreased latency (5/7studies), a decreased motor threshold (4/8 studies), an increased map size (2/3 studies) and a decreased cortical silent period (1/2 study) after gait-specific training. No change has been reported in terms of short interval intracortical inhibition after training. Five studies did not report any significant effect after gait-specific training on corticospinal excitability. The results of this systematic review suggest that gait-specific training modalities can drive neuroplastic adaptation among stroke survivors. However, given the methodological disparity of the included studies, additional clinical trials of better methodological quality are needed to establish conclusions. The results of this review can therefore be used to develop future studies to better understand the effects of gait-specific training on the central nervous system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Gait Analysis and Rehabilitation)

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