Gait variability has been correlated with fall risk in the elderly. Older adults typically display greater variability than young adults, but the cause of this increase is unclear. Slower walking leads to greater variability in young adults, but slow speeds are also typical in older adults. Increased variability in older adults may result from slower walking speeds, or possibly from other facto...

OBJECTIVE Complex sleep behaviors (CSBs) are classified as "parasomnias" in the International Classifcation of Sleep Disorders, Second Edition (ICSD-2). To realize the potential danger after taking two short-acting Z-hypnosedative drugs, we estimated the incidence of CSBs in nonpsychotic patients in Taiwan. METHODS Subjects (N = 1,220) using zolpidem or zopiclone were enrolled from the psychi...

Treadmills are commonly implemented in rehabilitation and laboratory settings to facilitate gait analysis and training. However, while this locomotor modality is often used with children, its effect on pediatric stride interval dynamics is unknown. This study investigated the stride interval persistence of 30 asymptomatic children after completion of three to six 10-min walking trials comprised...

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Nordic walking with conventional walking and band-based resistance exercise on functional fitness, static balance and dynamic balance in older adults. Volunteers (n = 65) were divided into four groups: Nordic walking (NW), conventional walking (CW), resistance (RES), and control. Each group performed activity 50-70 min·day(-1) (warm-up 10-...

Evidence suggests that the nervous system controls motor tasks using a low-dimensional modular organization of muscle activation. However, it is not clear if such an organization applies to coordination of human walking, nor how nervous system injury may alter the organization of motor modules and their biomechanical outputs. We first tested the hypothesis that muscle activation patterns during...

We propose a walking distance estimation method based on an adaptive step-length estimator at various walking speeds using a smartphone. First, we apply a fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based smoother on the acceleration data collected by the smartphone to remove the interference signals. Then, we analyze these data using a set of step-detection rules in order to detect walking steps. Using an ad...

In this study, we examined the effects of sensory inputs of visual-vestibulosomatosensory conflict induced by virtual reality (VR) on subjective dizziness, posture stability and visual dependency on postural control in humans. Eleven healthy young volunteers were immersed in two different VR conditions. In the control condition, subjects walked voluntarily with the background images of interact...

[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of musical tempo on physiological, affective, and perceptual responses as well as the performance of self-selected walking pace. [Subjects] The study included 28 adult women between 29 and 51 years old. [Methods] The subjects were divided into three groups: no musical stimulation group (control), and 90 and 140 beats per minute musical tempo groups....

BACKGROUND Virtual reality reflection therapy (VRRT) is a technically enhanced version of the mirror therapy concept. The aim of this study was to investigate whether VRRT could improve the postural balance and gait ability of patients with chronic stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-five patients with chronic stroke were randomly allocated into the VRRT group (n=13) and the control group (n=12...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this article was to examine associations between specific dimensions of nursing home environments and the functional ability (walking and eating) of residents with dementia, and to contribute to the ongoing psychometric development of the Professional Environmental Assessment Protocol (PEAP). DESIGN One-year prospective cohort study. SETTING Fifteen nursing homes in a ...