da Silva Cacho RM1, Castro MA1,2
1Coimbra Health School - IPC, Coimbra, Portugal, 2Centre for Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Processes (CEMMPRE) – Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Background: Gait characterization allows the knowledge of what adjustments individuals who have injuries of the cruciate ligaments do during this activity. For Physiotherapists it also contributes to build a gait database of individuals with pathology that helps in clinical context to identify injuries based on gait.
Purpose: The present study aims to quantify spatiotemporal gait parameters in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament injuries and compare them to healthy subjects.
Methods: Two hundred and twenty five walking trials of 15 subjects, 10 healthy and 5 with previous ACL injury that volunteered to participate was analysed with a 3D motion capture system of 10 cameras and one force platform. Exclusion criteria, based on medical history, were the presence of any disturbance that might affect gait like an orthopedic, neurological or visual impairment or other, including current injury and pain. 11 females and 4 males with mean age 21,33 ys (±2,637) were asked to walk in a comfortable speed.
Results: Main results show that individuals with previous ACL injury presented a lower cadence (50,70; ±4,42 vs 53,80; ±4,21 steps per minute), stride (1,12; ±0,33 vs 1,21; ±0,14 m) and speed (0,95; ±0,30 vs 1,08; ±0,15 ms-1) than healthy subjects while the step width is greater (0,094; ±0,03 vs 0,089; ±0,03 m).
Conclusion(s): Significant differences in spatiotemporal parameters of the gait were found between groups of previous ACL injured and healthy subjects that translate some gait adaptations caused by this pathology. It would be noteworthy to analyse kinematic and kinetic parameters during gait.
Implications: This study highlights the spatiotemporal differences in gait of previous ACL injured people and healthy ones which can easily be assessed during physiotherapy exam. It also contributes for the construction of a pathologic gait database that could provide normative data of pathologic conditions.
Keywords: Gait, Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, spatiotemporal parameters
Funding acknowledgements: Not applicable
Purpose: The present study aims to quantify spatiotemporal gait parameters in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament injuries and compare them to healthy subjects.
Methods: Two hundred and twenty five walking trials of 15 subjects, 10 healthy and 5 with previous ACL injury that volunteered to participate was analysed with a 3D motion capture system of 10 cameras and one force platform. Exclusion criteria, based on medical history, were the presence of any disturbance that might affect gait like an orthopedic, neurological or visual impairment or other, including current injury and pain. 11 females and 4 males with mean age 21,33 ys (±2,637) were asked to walk in a comfortable speed.
Results: Main results show that individuals with previous ACL injury presented a lower cadence (50,70; ±4,42 vs 53,80; ±4,21 steps per minute), stride (1,12; ±0,33 vs 1,21; ±0,14 m) and speed (0,95; ±0,30 vs 1,08; ±0,15 ms-1) than healthy subjects while the step width is greater (0,094; ±0,03 vs 0,089; ±0,03 m).
Conclusion(s): Significant differences in spatiotemporal parameters of the gait were found between groups of previous ACL injured and healthy subjects that translate some gait adaptations caused by this pathology. It would be noteworthy to analyse kinematic and kinetic parameters during gait.
Implications: This study highlights the spatiotemporal differences in gait of previous ACL injured people and healthy ones which can easily be assessed during physiotherapy exam. It also contributes for the construction of a pathologic gait database that could provide normative data of pathologic conditions.
Keywords: Gait, Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, spatiotemporal parameters
Funding acknowledgements: Not applicable
Topic: Musculoskeletal: lower limb; Sport & sports injuries; Research methodology & knowledge translation
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Coimbra Health School
Ethics committee: Ethic comitee of Politécnico de Coimbra
Ethics number: notion 26/2018
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
