OBJECTIVES Declines in cognition and mobility are frequently observed in the elderly, and it has been suggested that the appearance of gait disorders in older individuals may constitute a marker of cognitive decline that precedes significant findings in functional performance screening tests. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between functional capacities and gait and balance in an...

Human locomotion is a complex sensorimotor behavior whose central control remains difficult to explore using neuroimaging method due to technical constraints, notably the impossibility to walk with a scanner on the head and/or to walk for real inside current scanners. The aim of this functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study was to analyze interactions between two paradigms to investig...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of horseback riding simulation machine training on trunk balance and gait of patients with chronic stroke. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were 20 patients hospitalized for treatment after being diagnosed with stroke. Horseback riding simulation training was provided for 30 minutes, 5 times a week, for 6 weeks. Trunk balance was a...

objectives: ankle foot orthoses (afos) are widely utilized to improve walking ability in hemiplegic patients. the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of rocker bar ankle foot orthosis (rafo) on functional mobility in post-stroke hemiplegic patients. methods: fifteen hemiplegic patients (men and women) who were at least 6-months post-stroke and able to walk without assistive device for at...

Gait analysis is an objective tool for the clinical assessment of locomotor activity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Correct diagnosis and properly planned rehabilitation are necessary for enhanced motor functions in persons suffering from cerebral palsy. Orthoses, orthopedic operations, medications and physiotherapy are the most common treatments. However, there is still a lack of object...

Gait Velocity and Community Ambulation: the Limits of Assessment To the Editor: The contention by Schmid and colleagues1 that gait velocity, measured over 10 months, is sufficient as a single measure of community ambulation is not supported by the results of their study. Rather, their data supports earlier research showing that gait speed predicts functional mobility and social participation,2,...

Purpose: Considering the influence of horizontal velocity on many biomechanical characteristics of walking, the purpose of this study was to investigate how inter-lower-limbs local and global asymmetry is influenced by changes in walking speed from slow to fast. Methods: Ground reaction force data and trajectory of attached markers of bilateral lower limbs of 15 right leg-dominant able-bodied ...

OBJECTIVES To compare the effects of three fall-prevention programs (education (ED), home safety assessment and modification (HSAM), and exercise training (ET)) on quality of life (QOL), functional balance and gait, activities of daily living (ADLs), fear of falling, and depression in adults aged 65 and older. DESIGN A 4-month randomized trial. SETTING Randomized, controlled trial. PARTIC...

we evaluated the specific pattern of pre- and postoperative neurological signs and symptoms of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (csm) to determine [mdings which had a predictive value for surgical outcome. consecutive patients with csm caused by osteophytic ridge or intervertebral disc herniation who underwent anterior cervical decompression and fusion in loghman hakim hospital from 1999-2003 we...

Background: The assessment of functional recovery patients after a total knee replacement includes the quantification gait deviations. Comparisons to comfortable healthy controls may incorrectly suggest biomechanical deviations, since usually lower walking speed already causes differences. Moreover, taking peak values as parameter might not be sensitive actual Therefore, this study investigates...