Is base of support greater in unsteady gait?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We investigated dynamic interfoot distance (IFD) throughout the gait cycle in people with unsteady gait caused by vestibulopathy and in people without known neuromuscular pathology. We expected that the subjects with unsteady gait would use a greater IFD than subjects without...

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Publicado en:Physical Therapy Vol. 82; no. 2; pp. 138 - 148
Autores principales: Krebs DE, Goldvasser D, Lockert JD, Portney LG, Gill-Body KM
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Feb2002
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        atl: Is base of support greater in unsteady gait?
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          Krebs DE
          Goldvasser D
          Lockert JD
          Portney LG
          Gill-Body KM
        affil: Professor, MGH Institute of Health Professions, 101 Merrimac St, Boston, MA 02114-4719; krebs@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
      sug:
        subj:
          Gait
          Vestibular Diseases Physiopathology
          Gait Analysis
          Motion Analysis Systems
          Foot
          Kinetics
          Kinematics
          Data Analysis Software
          Inferential Statistics
          Descriptive Statistics
          Pearson's Correlation Coefficient
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Aged
          Aged, 80 and Over
          Funding Source
          Human
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Aged: 65+ years
          Aged, 80 & over
      ab: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We investigated dynamic interfoot distance (IFD) throughout the gait cycle in people with unsteady gait caused by vestibulopathy and in people without known neuromuscular pathology. We expected that the subjects with unsteady gait would use a greater IFD than subjects without neuromuscular pathology and that this IFD would be correlated with other measures of locomotor stability. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Simultaneous whole-body (11-segment) dynamic kinematic data were collected from 22 subjects with vestibulopathy and 22 subjects without known neuromuscular pathology who were matched for age, height, weight, and body mass index. Two trials each of the participants' gait at preferred speed and paced gait at 120 steps/min were analyzed with a repeated-measures design with multiple dependent variables. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and with inferential statistics. RESULTS: Interfoot distance at preferred gait speed did not differentiate unsteady subjects with vestibulopathy from the comparison subjects. Paced gait IFD total range and IFD in single-limb support differed between groups, but IFD at heel-strike did not. However, IFD at heel-strike, the traditional measure of 'base-of-support width,' was correlated with measurements of whole-body center-of-gravity stability (r=.32-.55). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Gait at preferred speed permitted the unsteady subjects and the comparison subjects to select similar IFD values, but at the cost of slower gait in the unsteady subjects. When required to walk at a 'normal' pace of 120 steps/min, subjects with vestibulopathy increased their IFD. These data suggest that wide-based gait alone cannot differentiate between subjects with and without balance impairments. Base of support and other whole-body kinematic variables are mechanical compensations of vestibulopathic instability. Further studies are needed to determine whether development of active control of these whole-body control variables can occur after vestibular rehabilitation.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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