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Evolving Toward Subject-Specific Gait Rehabilitation Through Single-Joint Resistive Force Interventions
S Srikesh Iyer1, Joel V Joseph1, Vineet Vashista1
1Human Centered Robotics Lab, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, India.
Frontiers in Neurorobotics
|April 1, 2020
Summary
This study explored how healthy adults adapt their walking when experiencing resistance at the hip and ankle. Participants showed compensatory movements, adjusting their gait to manage the unexpected forces.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Human motor control
- Robotics in rehabilitation
Background:
- Walking is a complex daily activity affected by aging and neurological disorders.
- Gait rehabilitation requires better paradigms and efficient human-robot interaction.
- Understanding locomotor adaptation is key to designing effective rehabilitation strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate human locomotor adaptation to resistive perturbations affecting hip and ankle walking strategies.
- To analyze compensatory and adaptive motor responses during walking with external resistance.
Main Methods:
- A cable-driven robotic system applied resistive forces to hip and ankle joints separately in two experiments.
- Eight healthy adult participants performed walking trials with interventions during the push-off phase.
- Intralimb and interlimb kinematic data were collected to analyze gait adjustments.
Main Results:
- Participants exhibited compensatory gait responses to the resistive interventions.
- Evidence of both intralimb and interlimb adaptation was observed.
- Deviant gait patterns suggested musculoskeletal adjustments to compensate for hip or ankle abnormalities.
Conclusions:
- Healthy adults adapt their walking by employing compensatory strategies when faced with hip or ankle resistance.
- The findings provide insights into human motor responses to gait alterations, valuable for rehabilitation robotics.
- This research contributes to understanding the mechanisms of locomotor adaptation for improved gait rehabilitation interventions.
