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Published on: April 18, 2011
Quantitative analysis of gait pattern and energy consumption in children with cerebral palsy
V Cimolin1, M Galli, L Piccinini
1Bioengineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, Milano - Italy.
Insights
This study developed a comfortable method to measure energy expenditure during walking in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Abnormal energy expenditure and oxygen cost values were significant in quantifying pathological gait in CP children.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Clinical Biomechanics
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
Background:
- Gait analysis (GA) is crucial for assessing functional mobility, especially in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
- Quantifying energy expenditure during walking provides insights into the energetic demands of pathological gaits.
- Current methods for energy expenditure measurement during GA may lack comfort or alter gait patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate an experimental setup for measuring energy consumption during gait analysis.
- To analyze energy expenditure parameters to characterize the energetic profile of pathological gait in children with CP.
- To assess the impact of an energy acquisition device on gait patterns.
Main Methods:
- An experimental setup for energy consumption during gait analysis was developed and tested.
- Twenty children with CP and 20 healthy children participated in two sessions.
- Session 1 involved only GA; Session 2 included GA with an energy acquisition device (K4b2).
Main Results:
- The experimental setup was comfortable for all participants.
- No significant differences in gait analysis values were observed between sessions, indicating the device does not alter gait.
- Energy expenditure index and oxygen cost showed abnormal values in CP children compared to controls, proving significant for quantification.
Conclusions:
- The proposed experimental setup is a valid and comfortable tool for measuring energy expenditure during gait in children.
- Energy expenditure index and oxygen cost are significant biomarkers for characterizing and quantifying pathological gait in pediatric cerebral palsy.
- This approach can aid in understanding the energetic impact of CP on walking and inform rehabilitation strategies.
Abstract:
The measurement of oxygen consumption during walking allows the quantification of gait expenditure, mainly in patients with musculoskeletal disabilities, as in cerebral palsy (CP). In this study, first, an experimental set up for the acquisition of energy consumption during gait analysis (GA) was proposed; secondly, some parameters of energy expenditure were analyzed to characterize pathological gait from an energetic point of view. Twenty CP children and 20 healthy children were evaluated during two consecutive sessions (session 1: only GA was performed; session 2: K4b2 was used during GA acquisition). The results revealed that the experimental set up was comfortable for all subjects. The absence of any differences in GA values between the two sessions showed that the use of a device for energy acquisition does not modify gait pattern. Energy expenditure index and oxygen cost presented abnormal values in comparison with normality and they were significant to quantify energy expenditure in CP children.
