Background

Reduced forward propulsion during gait, measured as the anterior component of the ground reaction force (AGRF), may contribute to slower walking speeds in older adults and gait dysfunction in individuals with neurological impairments. Trailing limb angle (TLA) is a clinically important gait parameter that is associated with AGRF generation. Real-time gait biofeedback can induce modifications in targeted gait parameters, with potential to modulate AGRF and TLA. However, the effects of real-time TLA biofeedback on gait biomechanics have not been studied thus far.

Research question

What are the effects of unilateral, real-time, audiovisual trailing limb angle biofeedback on gait biomechanics in able-bodied individuals?

Methods

Ten able-bodied adults participated in one session of treadmill-based gait analyses comprising 60-second walking trials under three conditions: no biofeedback, AGRF biofeedback, and TLA biofeedback. Biofeedback was provided unilaterally to the right leg. Dependent variables included AGRF, TLA, ankle moment, and ankle power. One-way repeated measures ANOVA with post-hoc tests were conducted to determine the effect of the biofeedback conditions on gait parameters.

Results

Compared to no biofeedback, both AGRF and TLA biofeedback induced significant increases in targeted leg AGRF without concomitant changes to the non-targeted leg AGRF. Targeted leg TLA was significantly larger during TLA biofeedback compared to AGRF biofeedback. Only AGRF biofeedback induced significant increases in ankle power; and only the TLA biofeedback condition induced increases in the non-targeted leg TLA.

Significance

Our novel findings provide support for the feasibility and promise of TLA as a gait biofeedback target. Our study demonstrates that comparable magnitudes of feedback-induced increases in AGRF in response to AGRF and TLA biofeedback may be achieved through divergent biomechanical strategies. Further investigation is needed to uncover the effects of TLA biofeedback on gait parameters in individuals with neuro-pathologies such as spinal cord injury or stroke.

中文翻译：

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实时推进力与肢体角度步态生物反馈对步态生物力学影响的比较

背景

以地面反作用力 (AGRF) 的前部分量衡量的步态过程中前向推进力的减少可能导致老年人步行速度减慢和神经功能障碍个体的步态功能障碍。后肢角 (TLA) 是临床上重要的步态参数，与 AGRF 生成相关。实时步态生物反馈可以诱导目标步态参数的修改，具有调节 AGRF 和 TLA 的潜力。然而，实时 TLA 生物反馈对步态生物力学的影响迄今尚未得到研究。

研究问题

单边、实时、视听后肢角度生物反馈对健全个体的步态生物力学有何影响？

方法

十名身体健全的成年人参加了一次基于跑步机的步态分析，包括在三种条件下进行的 60 秒步行试验：无生物反馈、AGRF 生物反馈和 TLA 生物反馈。生物反馈是单方面提供给右腿的。因变量包括 AGRF、TLA、脚踝力矩和脚踝力量。进行了带有事后测试的单向重复测量方差分析，以确定生物反馈条件对步态参数的影响。

结果

与没有生物反馈相比，AGRF 和 TLA 生物反馈都诱导了靶向腿部 AGRF 的显着增加，而不伴随着非靶向腿部 AGRF 的变化。与 AGRF 生物反馈相比，在 TLA 生物反馈期间靶向腿部 TLA 明显更大。只有 AGRF 生物反馈能显着增加踝关节力量；并且只有 TLA 生物反馈条件导致非靶向腿部 TLA 增加。

意义

我们的新发现为 TLA 作为步态生物反馈目标的可行性和前景提供了支持。我们的研究表明，响应 AGRF 和 TLA 生物反馈的反馈诱导的 AGRF 增加的可比幅度可以通过不同的生物力学策略实现。需要进一步研究以揭示 TLA 生物反馈对患有神经病变（如脊髓损伤或中风）的个体步态参数的影响。