Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether normalizing spatial-temporal gait data for
walking speed obtained from multiple walking trials leads to differences in gait
variability parameters associated with a history of falling in people with
transtibial amputations.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: Rehabilitation
center. PARTICIPANTS: People with unilateral transtibial amputations (N=45; mean
age +/- SD, 60.5+/-13.7y; 35 men [78%]) were recruited. INTERVENTIONS: Not
applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed 10 consecutive walking
trials using an instrumented walkway system. Primary gait parameters were walking
speed and step-length, step-width, step-time, and swing-time variability. A
retrospective 12-month fall history was obtained from participants. RESULTS:
Sixteen amputees (36%) were classified as fallers. Variation in gait speed across
the 10 walking trials was 2.9% (range, 1.1%-12.1%). Variability parameters of
normalized gait data were significantly different from variability parameters of
nonnormalized data (all P<.01). For nonnormalized data, fallers had greater
amputated limb step-time (P=.02), step-length (P=.02), swing-time (P=.05), and
step-width (P=.03) variability and nonamputated limb step-length (P=.04) and
step-width (P=.01) variability. For normalized data, only 3 variability
parameters were significantly greater for fallers. These were amputated limb
step-time (P=.05), step-length (P=.02), and step-width (P=.01) variability.
CONCLUSIONS: Normalizing spatial-temporal gait data for walking speed before
calculating gait variability parameters may aid in discerning variability
parameters related to falls histories in people with transtibial amputations.
This may help focus on the initial rehabilitation efforts of amputees with a fall
history.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS