Kinematic adaptations of spinal cord-injured subjects during obstructed walking.

Study Design: A case-control study of walking over obstacles.

Objective: To characterize and compare the kinematic, anticipatory locomotor adjustments used by people with incomplete spinal cord injuries (SCIs).

Methods: The angular and linear kinematics of the lower limb when going over obstacles of low height (0.005 and 0.030 m) were compared between SCI subjects (n = 6) and able-bodied participants (n = 5).

Results: The results of this study show that even though SCI participants could adapt their kinematic patterns to go over obstacles, none of the participants used kinematic strategies similar to those of able-bodied participants.

Conclusions: This difference could be explained in part by the absence in the SCI participants of increased hip flexion when going over the obstacles. Other confounding factors are discussed.