Background: Microprocessor-controlled knee joints appeared on the market a decade ago. These joints are more sophisticated and more expensive than mechanical ones. The literature is contradictory regarding changes in gait and balance when using these sophisticated devices.
Methods: This study employed a crossover design to assess the comparative performance of a passive mechanical knee prosthesis compared to a microprocessor-controlled knee joint in 15 subjects with an above-knee amputation. Objective measurements of gait and balance were obtained.
Results: Subjects demonstrated significantly improved gait characteristics after receiving the microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint (p<0.01). Improvements in gait were a transition from a hyperextended knee to a flexed knee during loading response which resulted in a change from an internal knee flexor moment to a knee extensor moment. The participants' balance also improved (p<0.01). All conditions of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) demonstrated improvements in equilibrium score. The composite score also increased.
Conclusions: Transfemoral amputees using a microprocessor-controlled knee have significant improvements in gait and balance.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2007.07.011 | DOI Listing |
Mult Scler Relat Disord
January 2025
Department of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA.
Background: There is growing literature examining the effects of balance training on cognitive function in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the findings remain inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate methodological characteristics of balance training studies and examine the effects of this modality on cognitive function.
Methods: This study performed literature search using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, SPORTSDiscus, and CINAHL databases from inception to April 2024.
Cureus
January 2025
Department of Research, Department of Regenerative Medicine, Rinaldi Fontani Foundation, Florence, ITA.
An 88-year-old woman presented with a longstanding history of dizziness, tremors, and progressive mental and physical decline, significantly impairing her mobility and autonomy. Recently discharged from an ICU, the patient required extensive support for daily activities. Diagnostic evaluations, including EEG and analysis, revealed irregular frequency peaks and altered cortical activity, particularly in the frontal and prefrontal regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Rehabil Res Clin Transl
December 2024
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Chicago, IL.
Objective: To analyze changes in balance and gait in patients undergoing rehabilitation postcraniectomy and postcranioplasty, including comparison of outcomes across time periods, rate of change, and among diagnoses.
Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation.
Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl
December 2024
Section of Neurorehabilitation, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Nystagmus has various clinical manifestations, including downbeat, upbeat, and torsional types, each associated with distinct neurologic features. Current rehabilitative interventions focusing on fixation training and optical correction often fail to achieve complete resolution. When nystagmus coexists with fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), functional impairments worsen, particularly affecting balance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Med (Lond)
January 2025
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Background: Declining gait performance is seen in aging individuals, due to neural and systemic factors. Plasma biomarkers provide an accessible way to assess evolving brain changes; non-specific neurodegeneration (NfL, GFAP) or evolving Alzheimer's disease (Aβ 42/40 ratio, P-Tau181).
Methods: In a population-based cohort of older adults, we evaluate the hypothesis that plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease pathology are associated with worse gait performance.
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