Objective: To evaluate the effects of gait training with virtual reality (VR) on walking distance and physical fitness in individuals with Parkinson's Disease (PD).
Methods: Thirty-seven individuals with PD participated in this prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial. They were randomly allocated to a control group submitted to conventional training (n = 12), a treadmill group submitted to gait training on a treadmill (n = 13) and a VR group submitted to gait training using the XboxTM (n = 12). Clinical measures, gait variables and the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) were evaluated: pre-intervention, after one intervention session, post-intervention and follow up (30 days after intervention).
Results: The VR and treadmill groups travelled longer distances on the 6MWT and had faster gait speed in comparison to the control group. The VR and treadmill groups demonstrated an increase in pre-6MWT HR. The VR group had more intense HR after the first session and throughout training, but these gains were not maintained at the follow-up.
Conclusion: The present findings demonstrate that gait training with a VR program is as effective as treadmill training with regard to gains in walking distance and improvements in temporal gait variables in individuals with PD.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/NRE-172355 | DOI Listing |
Clin Biomech (Bristol)
December 2024
Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Rehabilitation Medicine, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation and Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address:
Background: Clinical decisions regarding ankle-foot-orthosis stiffness in people with calf muscle weakness are based on immediate evaluations, not taking gait adaptation into account. This study examined adaptation of step length, walking speed and energy cost of walking in the 3-months post-provision and whether individuals with higher gait variability adapt more compared to individuals with lower gait variability.
Methods: We conducted a post-hoc analysis in eighteen stiffness-optimized ankle-foot-orthosis users with bilateral calf muscle weakness.
PLoS One
December 2024
CHU Clermont Ferrand, Plateforme d'Exploration de la Mobilité, Pôle MOBEX, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Background: In osteoarthritis quadriceps strength is an important outcome to assess exercise capacity and recovery after arthroplasty. However, its measurement is limited due to lack of time and the need for trained personnel and equipment whose accuracy is verified.
Objectives: To find out the determinants of a reduced quadriceps strength and to establish a score to screen for it.
Arch Osteoporos
December 2024
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Unlabelled: This study examines how power training affects estimated bone strength, revealing that females benefit more than males, especially in the upper limbs (radius). These findings highlight the importance of designing sex-specific exercise programs to enhance bone health. Further research is needed to optimize training duration and address site-specific differences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Biomed Eng
December 2024
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Biorobotics and Biomechanics Lab, University of Maine, 168 College Ave, Orono, ME, 04469, USA.
Purpose: Current gait rehabilitation protocols for older adults typically attempt to effect changes in leg movements, while the role of arm movements is often ignored despite evidence of the neurological coupling of the upper and lower extremities. In the present work, we examine the effectiveness of a novel wearable haptic cueing system that targets arm swing to improve various gait parameters in older adults.
Methods: Twenty participants ( years) were recruited to analyze their gait during normal and fast walking without haptic cueing.
Sports (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
Purposeful heading, in which players may use their heads to advance the ball in play, is a unique part of soccer. Clinical outcome measures used to aid in the diagnosis of a concussion have long been a cornerstone of the contemporary measurements associated with the short- and long-term effects of monitoring repetitive head impacts (RHI) and soccer heading exposure. The effects of RHI in the youth population are still unknown, therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine if heading exposure is predictive of changes in self-reported symptoms, neurocognitive functioning, gait, and balance in female youth soccer players over the course of one soccer season.
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