Exploratory study of the lateral body sway predictability as frame of reference for gait rehabilitation following a total knee arthroplasty.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the predictability of fronto-parallel trunk rotations (lateral body sway) could serve as a frame of reference to monitor recovery after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: Before surgery, 11 TKA patients were asked to perform a treadmill walking task at three different speeds. In addition, their gait abilities were scored on three standard clinical walking tests.

Inertial-Sensor-Based Monitoring of Sample Entropy and Peak Frequency Changes in Treadmill Walking during Recovery after Total Knee Arthroplasty.

This study aimed to investigate whether sample entropy (SEn) and peak frequency values observed in treadmill walking could provide physical therapists valuable insights into gait rehabilitation following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). It was recognized that identifying movement strategies that during rehabilitation are initially adaptive but later start to hamper full recovery is critical to meet the clinical goals and minimize the risk of contralateral TKA. Eleven TKA patients were asked to perform clinical walking tests and a treadmill walking task at four different points in time (pre-TKA, 3, 6, and 12 months post-TKA).

More Predictable and Less Automatized Movements during Walking -not during Repetitive Punching- in Knee Osteoarthritis.

Using the non-affected leg as stable frame of reference for the affected leg in gait assessment in knee osteoarthritis (KO) fails due to compensatory mechanisms. Assessing the cyclical movements of the upper extremities in a frequency-controlled repetitive punching task may provide an alternative frame of reference in gait assessment in patients with KO. Eleven participants with unilateral KO and eleven healthy controls were asked to perform treadmill walking and repetitive punching.

Increased Speed Elicited More Automatized but Less Predictable Control in Cyclical Arm and Leg Movements.

The present study explores variations in the degree of automaticity and predictability of cyclical arm and leg movements. Twenty healthy adults were asked to walk on a treadmill at a lower-than-preferred speed, their preferred speed, and at a higher-than-preferred speed. In a separate, repetitive punching task, the three walking frequencies were used to cue the target pace of the cyclical arm movements.