Effects of Rehabilitative Device on Parkinsonian Gait

Parkinson's disease (PD) is second in occurrence among neurodegenerative disorders after Alzheimer's disease and significantly impacts gait and mobility. This research tested the effect of the NewGait rehabilitative device in PD impaired individuals. Twenty individuals with PD participated in this study. Walking gait for three conditions were analyzed: Normal, wearing NewGait and Post-NewGait. Standard spatial and temporal analysis measures as well as nonlinear measures from recurrence quantification were compared to determine any effects of the device on walking gait. NewGait was perceived to be both comfortable to wear as well as resulted in increased ease of movement. Step width was increased while wearing NewGait while step length was unchanged. No differences were found in temporal measures: cadence, stride time and double support time. Wearing NewGait resulted in a slight, but not significant decrease in walking velocity compared to Normal. Post-NewGait gait velocity was increased compared to wearing NewGait. Based only on these standard linear spatiotemporal measures, NewGait is somewhat intrusive for gait Parkinsonian individuals, resulting in a less effective gait. The recurrence-based analysis however, found that compared to Normal, Determinism and Laminarity was increased while wearing NewGait and Post-NewGait. Entropy was also increased while wearing NewGait and there was a tendency towards increased Entropy while walking after wearing NewGait. These results suggest NewGait allows for greater predictability and complexity of the gait pattern with increased dynamic stability than walking without NewGait. Therefore, there is potential for longer-term beneficial effects of NewGait in rehabilitation of Parkinsonian gait.