The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) demonstrate a technique that can be used to directly estimate the inertial properties of a below-knee prosthesis, and (2) contrast the effects of the proposed technique and that of using intact limb inertial properties on joint kinetic estimates during walking in unilateral, transtibial amputees. An oscillation and reaction board system was validated ...

Sensory feedback plays a crucial role in the control of locomotion and in the recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Investigations in reduced preparations have shown that the locomotor cycle can be modified through the activation of afferent feedback at various phases of the gait cycle. We investigated the effect of phase-dependent electrical stimulation of a cutaneous afferent nerve o...

Fifteen normal adults walked and crossed obstacles of different heights (10%, 20% and 30% of leg length) with each limb while kinematic data were measured to obtain joint angles in the sagittal plane. Phase angles of each joint were calculated from the angular velocities (x') and displacements (x) as phi=tan(-1)(x'/x). Relative phase angles were then calculated by subtracting phase angles of a ...

Kinematic and motor patterns during forward and backward walking in the salamander Dicamptodon tenebrosus were compared to determine whether the differences seen in mammals also apply to a lower vertebrate with sprawling posture and to measure the flexibility of motor output by tetrapod central pattern generators. During treadmill locomotion, electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from hindlimb m...

Gait instability is a common problem following stroke, as evidenced by increases in fall risk and fear of falling. However, the mechanism underlying gait instability is currently unclear. We recently found that young, healthy humans use a consistent gait stabilization strategy of actively controlling their mediolateral foot placement based on the concurrent mechanical state of the stance limb. ...

We measured a cross-section of able-bodied (AB) men (n = 175) and men with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) (n = 33) residing in the community, 14 to 65 years old, to identify associations between dietary factors, physical activity, health status, and mechanical properties of long bones assessed by phase velocity measurement of flexural waves in the tibia during the second to seventh decades. T...

We compared the mechanics of gait in 13 patients with early medial arthrosis (OA) of the knee and 13 normal controls, by measuring gait events, kinematic and kinetic parameters. In the OA group, walking velocity, cadence and stride length were reduced and stride time and double support time accordingly increased on both sides, the overall stance phase was prolonged in the OA group, but the stan...

Rehabilitation following spinal cord injury is likely to depend on recovery of corticospinal systems. Here we investigate whether transmission in the corticospinal tract may explain foot drop (inability to dorsiflex ankle) in persons with spinal cord lesion. The study was performed in 24 persons with incomplete spinal cord lesion (C1 to L1) and 15 healthy controls. Coherence in the 10- to 20-Hz...

32 33 Rehabilitation following spinal cord injury is likely to depend on recovery of 34 corticospinal systems. Here we investigate whether transmission in the corticospinal tract 35 may explain foot drop (inability to dorsiflex ankle) in persons with spinal cord lesion. 36 The study was performed in 24 persons with incomplete spinal cord lesion (C1 to L1) and 37 15 healthy controls. Coherence i...

This paper proposes a novel method of estimating walking distance based on a precise counting of walking strides using insole sensors. We use an inertial triaxial accelerometer and eight pressure sensors installed in the insole of a shoe to record walkers' movement data. The data is then transmitted to a smartphone to filter out noise and determine stance and swing phases. Based on phase inform...