Effects of gait training with partial body weight support on treadmill and over the ground on coordination of individuals with chronic stroke

• Grant number: 16/23571-1
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): February 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal researcher: Ana Maria Forti Barela
• Grantee: Melissa Leandro Celestino
• Supervisor abroad: Richard Van Emmerik
• Home Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde. Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul (UNICSUL). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass Amherst), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/13100-9 - Effects of gait training with partial body weight support on the intra- and inter-members coordination of individuals post stroke, BP.DR

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of gait training with body weight support (BWS) on treadmill vs. over the ground on measures related to locomotor coordination. In this way, individuals with lower limb hemiparesis were recruited to participate in this study. After baseline (T0), participants were randomly allocated to 2 BWS groups: treadmill (TMG, n=14) and overground training group (OGG, n=14). Training sessions were offered three times weekly, for six weeks totaling 18 training sessions. Gait assessment was performed on a 7 m walkway with two embedded force platforms (Kistler, model 9286BA). A gait analysis system (VICON Bonita 10), with seven cameras, was used to acquire kinematic data from markers placed on the main body landmarks. Participants were asked to walk at a comfortable, self-selected speed. Five trials, minimum, and ten trials (maximum) were recorded for each participant on each assessment (T0, T1, T2). Data from reflective markers had been processed with Vicon Nexus software and storage on ASCII files. Joint and segmental angles of lower limb have been calculated with TheMotionMonitor software (Innovative Sports Training, Inc.), and storage on ASCII files. As part of the Research Internship Exchange Abroad, from all storage data, specific routines written in Matlab (MathWorks, Inc.) will be developed to calculate the variables related to locomotor coordination. We will calculate continuous relative phase, which is a measure of the interaction or coordination of two segments during the gait cycle.