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Purpose@#Gait evaluation in patients with dizziness is essential during both initial evaluation and vestibular rehabilitation. Inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based gait analysis systems are clinically applicable in patients with dizziness. Since dizzy patients can utilize visual inputs to compensate for vestibular deficits, it is more difficult for them to walk with their eyes closed (EC). In this study, we compared gait characteristics during forward walking with both eyes open (EO) and EC between healthy subjects and dizzy patients. @*Materials and Methods@#Forty-nine healthy controls (mean age 37.18±10.71 years) and 23 patients with dizziness (mean age 49.25± 15.16 years) were subjected to vestibular and gait analyses. Medical histories, physical examinations, and vestibular function tests ruled out possible vestibular deficits in the controls. Subjects were instructed to walk at a comfortable pace for 10 m under two conditions (EO or EC). Spatiotemporal parameters, kinematics, and simulated kinetics of each gait recording were recorded using a shoe-type IMU system and analyzed. @*Results@#Although gait speeds were slower, stride lengths were smaller, and double support times were increased under the EC, compared to the EO condition, in both healthy subjects and dizzy patients, the difference was more prominent in dizzy patients.Phase coordination index values did not differ significantly in either group. Gait asymmetry (GA) increased significantly under the EC condition, compared to the EO condition, in dizzy patients. @*Conclusion@#GA during forward walking was greater in dizzy patients under an EC condition than under an EO condition.
RESUMEN
Purpose@#This was a pilot study to examine the clinical usefulness of the newly developed three-dimensional sweep mode extracorporeal shockwave treatment (ESWT) in patients with plantar fasciitis. @*Materials and Methods@#Three-dimensional sweep mode ESWT was performed once a week for 5 weeks in patients with plantar fasciitis who showed no improvement with the conventional conservative treatment. A 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) reading for pain from walking and at rest after walking were collected before the treatment and 8 and 16 weeks after the initial treatment. In addition, the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and EuroQol-5-dimension (EQ-5D) scores before and 16 weeks after the treatment were evaluated. @*Results@#VAS for pain for walking improved from 50.60±8.38 to 19.80±15.61 at 8 weeks after the initial treatment (p=0.008) and 9.80±9.62 at 16 weeks after the treatment (p<0.001). VAS for pain at rest after walking improved from 36.60±19.55 to 11.80±12.95 at 8 weeks after the initial treatment (p=0.052) and 8.80±8.87 at 16 weeks after the treatment (p=0.024). Preoperative FAOS increased from an average of 74.80±9.73 before the treatment to an average of 81.00±8.86 at week 16 after the procedure (p=0.49) and compared to pre-treatment levels, there was a decrease of one level in the anxiety/depression domain of the EQ-5D, post-treatment. @*Conclusion@#The results of this preliminary study confirmed that the newly developed EWST with the smart forging sweep mode was effective in improving pain and function in plantar fasciitis.