Impaired ankle joint mechanics during running can be resolved in people with traumatic brain injury

1) To compare lower-limb joint mechanics during running for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to equivalent data obtained from a group of healthy controls (HCs); and 2) To determine if deficits identified in biomechanical variables during running for people with TBI responded to a six-month period of rehabilitation.

Running biomechanics data were recorded from 12 people with TBI who were attending a large metropolitan rehabilitation hospital for mobility limitations, and a comparative sample of 10 HCs at baseline and six-month follow-up.

Average power absorbed and generated at the hip, knee and ankle joints during stance.

Compared to HCs, participants with TBI at baseline ran with greater average power absorption at the hip (-0.27 W/kg vs -0.61 W/kg; p< 0.05), reduced average power absorption at the knee (-2.03 W/kg vs -1.02 W/kg; p< 0.05) and reduced average power generation at the ankle (2.86 W/kg vs 2.06 W/kg; p< 0.05). Only average power generation at the ankle improved following six-months of rehabilitation for the participants with TBI (2.06 W/kg vs 2.79 W/kg; p< 0.05).

For the participants with TBI in the present study, recovery of high-level mobility following rehabilitation occurred alongside an improvement in ankle joint mechanics during running.