The acute effects of a stretching and conditioning exercise protocol for the lower limbs on gait performance- a proof of concept and single-blind study.

Background: Due to improvement in movement performance, post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) may open new possibilities to improve gait performance. However, no study has attempted to translate this phenomenon into walking. Therefore, the study aimed to test whether acute stretching followed by a conditioning exercise can improve subsequent gait performance in healthy adults.

Perception of COVID-19 Pandemic by Brazilian People With Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis.

COVID-19 in Brazil is threatening, and it has forced the government to adopt partial lockdown as a strategy to stop the spread of the virus in the first wave of pandemic (March 2020). These preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the motor and non-motor symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Multiple sclerosis (MS). Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the perception during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on motor and non-motor symptoms, and also measure physical activity level, quality of life, and sleep quality in Brazilian people with PD and MS.

Effects of automatic mechanical peripheral stimulation on gait biomechanics in older adults with Parkinson's disease: a randomized crossover clinical trial.

Background: Automated mechanical peripheral stimulation (AMPS) is a rehabilitation technique suggested to correct gait abnormalities on Parkinson's disease. Although previous studies have suggested increments in functional performance and gait speed after AMPS intervention, little is known about its effect on gait biomechanics.

Objective: To analyze the effect of an AMPS session on functional performance and gait biomechanics in subjects with Parkinson's disease.

Dual tasking reduces gait asymmetry of trajectory deviation during obstacle circumvention in people with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Certain aspects of gait may depend on cognition, and the effects of dual-tasking (DT) on gait asymmetry (GA) during obstacle circumvention in people with Parkinson's disease (pwPD) may be walking phase-dependent. While the approaching phase requires allocating significant cognitive resources to perform the task, outweighing the available resources may increase GA. During the avoiding phase, the obstacle could be used as an external cue, enhancing the attention to the obstacle and, consequently, improving gait control and regulating GA.

Cortical activity and gait parameter characteristics in people with multiple sclerosis during unobstructed gait and obstacle avoidance.

Background: People with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) present higher cortical activity during walking. However, the cortical activity during gait while avoiding an obstacle is still not clear.

Objective: To investigate cortical activity and gait spatial-temporal parameters in PwMS during two different gait tasks (i.

Is it possible to predict falls in older adults using gait kinematics?

Background: Gait kinematic parameters have been reported as an important clinical tool to assess the risk of falls in older adults. However, the ability of these parameters to predict falls in the older population is still unclear.

Objective: To identify the ability that gait kinematic parameters present to predict fall in older adults.