Search Results (7)

Background: Gait disturbance in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) significantly impacts quality of life and is not completely mitigated by dopaminergic treatment. Auditory cueing has been shown to help improve certain aspects of gait, but its effects when matched to individuals’ preferred walking rate remain unexplored. Methods: Nine individuals with PD walked at their preferred rate across a GAITRite^® mat under three separate conditions: self-paced, metronome-cued, and music-cued. Spatiotemporal gait measures were collected and analyzed using repeated measures ANOVAs and post-hoc paired-samples t-tests. Results: A main effect of condition was revealed for step width (F = 3.533, p = 0.054, η_p² = 0.306), with reduced step width revealed during the music-cued condition. Post-hoc analysis revealed no significance (p > 0.063). Conclusions: The trend in step width data suggests a potential benefit of music cueing for enhancing gait stability in persons with PD. Results of this pilot study provide valuable framework for future research and the development of therapeutic interventions to enhance gait stability, reduce fall risk, and improve overall quality of life. Full article

The attractor complexity index (ACI) is a recently developed gait analysis tool based on nonlinear dynamics. This study assesses ACI’s sensitivity to attentional demands in gait control and its potential for characterizing age-related changes in gait patterns. Furthermore, we compare ACI with classical gait metrics to determine its efficacy relative to established methods. A 4 × 200 m indoor walking test with a triaxial accelerometer attached to the lower back was used to compare gait patterns of younger (N = 42) and older adults (N = 60) during normal and metronome walking. The other linear and non-linear gait metrics were movement intensity, gait regularity, local dynamic stability (maximal Lyapunov exponents), and scaling exponent (detrended fluctuation analysis). In contrast to other gait metrics, ACI demonstrated a specific sensitivity to metronome walking, with both young and old participants exhibiting altered stride interval correlations. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the young and old groups (standardized effect size: −0.77). Additionally, older participants exhibited slower walking speeds, a reduced movement intensity, and a lower gait regularity. The ACI is likely a sensitive marker for attentional load and can effectively discriminate age-related changes in gait patterns. Its ease of measurement makes it a promising tool for gait analysis in unsupervised (free-living) conditions. Full article

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of Garmin Vivofit^® Jr. physical activity (PA) wristbands during daily life physical activities. Six wristbands were randomly selected from a stock of twenty-four. The wristbands were worn by a single four-year-old participant, with three on the right wrist area and three on the left wrist area. To assess device reliability under laboratory conditions on a treadmill (Powerjog, model JM200, Sport Engineering Ltd., Birmingham, UK), the participant wore the six wristbands while performing five work conditions: sitting and standing (30 times per minute, controlled by a metronome), walking at 3 km/h, walking at 4 km/h, running at 5 km/h, and running at 6 km/h. Throughout the six minutes, variables related to physical activity provided by the device, step volume, and minutes of physical activity were recorded using the specific application of the wristband (Garmin International Inc., Olathe, KS, USA). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were high for all six wristbands with each other, for both the number of steps taken (ICC = 0.991–0.998) and the number of minutes of PA (ICC = 0.892–0.977). The critical alpha value of the Cusum test was highest at.050 for all wristband associations. In conclusion, good reliability was found among the six wristbands, which could be adopted for field-based research to quantify physical activities. Full article

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of supervised and unsupervised physical training programs using outdoor gym equipment on the lifestyles of elderly people. Methods: physically independent elderly people were randomly distributed into three groups: supervised training (n: 20; ST), unsupervised training (n: 20; UT) and control (n: 20; C). The ST and UT groups completed a 12-week program, with exercises performed three times a week. The ST group underwent weekly 30 min sessions consisting of a 5 min warm-up (walking at 60% of HR_max), followed by 20 sets of 30, “monitored by a metronome with 30” of passive recovery between sets and a five-minute cool-down. The following equipment was used: elliptical, rowing, surfing and leg press. The UT group was instructed to freely attend the gym and train spontaneously using the same equipment used by ST. Lifestyle changes were evaluated using a questionnaire containing specific domains. Results: no significant differences were identified in the domains for family, physical activity, nutrition, smoking, sleep, behavior, introspection, work and overall score; however, the values corresponding to the alcohol domain for the ST and UT groups were lower (p < 0.05) than the C group, remaining even lower after the 12 weeks of intervention. Time effect (p < 0.05) was found only in the ST group for the physical domains, sleep, behavior and overall score. Conclusion: elderly people submitted to supervised and unsupervised physical exercise programs using outdoor gym equipment present positive changes in lifestyle parameters compared to physical inactive elderly people. Full article

Human walking exhibits properties of global stability, and local dynamic variability, predictability, and complexity. Global stability is typically assessed by quantifying the whole-body center-of-mass motion while local dynamic variability, predictability, and complexity are assessed using the stride interval. Recent arguments from general mechanics suggest that the global stability of gait can be assessed with adiabatic invariants, i.e., quantities that remain approximately constant, even under slow external changes. Twenty-five young healthy participants walked for 10 min at a comfortable pace, with and without a metronome indicating preferred step frequency. Stride interval variability was assessed by computing the coefficient of variation, predictability using the Hurst exponent, and complexity via the fractal dimension and sample entropy. Global stability of gait was assessed using the adiabatic invariant computed from averaged kinetic energy value related to whole-body center-of-mass vertical displacement. We show that the metronome alters the stride interval variability and predictability, from autocorrelated dynamics to almost random dynamics. However, despite these large local variability and predictability changes, the adiabatic invariant is preserved in both conditions, showing the global stability of gait. Thus, the adiabatic invariant theory reveals dynamical global stability constraints that are “hidden” behind apparent local walking variability and predictability. Full article

The purpose of this study was to compare the difference in the accuracy of gait events between young and older adults during metronomic walking by auditory cueing. Additionally, age-specific changes in the gait event accuracy according to additional simultaneous cognitive tasks were examined. The time interval (or temporal error) between the auditory cue (i.e., metronome) and the heel contact was used as the accuracy of the gait event. Fifteen young group (YG, 24.7 ± 0.8 years) and 14 elderly (EG, 78.4 ± 5.5 years) people participated in the experiment. The temporal errors under two gait conditions (MET: walking with metronome; MET + BC: walking with metronome while counting backward) were compared for each group. The results revealed that all the temporal errors of EG were significantly greater than those of YG. While the addition of simultaneous cognitive tasks resulted in a significant increase in temporal error in both age groups, the coefficient of variation (CV) of the temporal error significantly increased only in the EG group. In other words, although heel contact accuracy with auditory stimuli was affected by the simultaneous cognitive task in both groups, it was demonstrated that the variability of the error in the young adults remained constant. Therefore, the time error measurement used in this study has the potential to be used as a tool to judge the gait instability of the elderly compared with young adults. Full article

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between effort-based decision making and gross motor performance. Effort-based decision making was measured using a modified version of the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT), in which participants pressed a button on a keyboard to fill a bar on a screen for monetary reward. Participants received monetary rewards that were commensurate with the level of effort that they were willing to expend. Gross motor performance was measured with a walking task, in which participants matched their steps to the beat of an audio metronome; they walked to metronome beats that were slower and also faster than their normal walking pace. We hypothesized that increased effort during the effort-based decision making task would be paired with an increase in steps taken per minute during the gross motor task. However, the results of this study indicated a lack of a statistically significant relationship between the effort-based decision making task and the gross motor task. Planning rather than decision-making may have been the cognitive construct that governed our gross motor task. These findings can be beneficial when thinking about potential interventions for populations who experience deficits in motor performance and cognition as well as for understanding the relationship between both cognitive and motor performance in healthy adults. Full article