Article

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between
medio-lateral foot placement characteristics and environmental context when
individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) walk with a rollator (four-wheeled
walker). METHOD: Ten women diagnosed with MS, who used rollators regularly,
participated in this study. First, a rollator-based technique of calculating step
width (SW) was validated in this patient population by comparing the output of an
instrumented rollator (iWalker) to a laboratory-based Vicon Motion Capture
System. Secondly, the iWalker-based technique was used to calculate the
participants' SW and SW variability as they used the iWalker in four common
outdoor community environments. RESULTS: There was a strong level of agreement
between the iWalker and Vicon SW calculations, with an intra-class correlation
coefficient of 0.993 and a root-mean-square difference of 0.71 cm. Furthermore,
SW variability (P = 0.002), but not SW (P = 0.288), was influenced by the walking
environment (i.e. between the in-lab vs. up-ramp and up-ramp vs. down-ramp
conditions). CONCLUSIONS: Foot placement variability appears to be influenced by
the walking environment of MS patients. Therefore, an enhanced understanding of
walker-user interactions in relation to the environment must be established in
order to improve mobility.

Langue : ANGLAIS