ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to compare the gait variability of patients with isolated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency (experimental group) with that of healthy individuals (control group). The hypothesis was that the gait variability of the experimental group would be higher than the control group. The experimental group consisted of 20 men with an ACL tear and the control group consisted of 20 healthy men without any neurological and/or musculoskeletal pathology or injury. The gait acceleration signal was analysed using the Gait Evaluation Differential Entropy Method (GEDEM). The GEDEM index of the experimental group in the medio-lateral axis was significantly higher than that of the control subjects. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the diagnostic value of the method and to determine a cut-off entropy value. The GEDEM cut-off value had a 95.6% probability of separating isolated ACL patients from healthy subjects.
Subject(s)
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/physiopathology , Gait/physiology , Range of Motion, Articular/physiology , Adult , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/surgery , Biomechanical Phenomena , Case-Control Studies , Humans , Male , ROC Curve , WalkingABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to compare the gait variability of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (experimental group) with healthy individuals (control group). The hypothesis is that the preoperative gait variability of the experimental group is higher than the control group. The experimental group consisted of 35 adults (18 males, 17 females). The subjects of the experimental group suffered exclusively from spinal stenosis. The patients were determined by MRI scans. A tri-axial accelerometer sensor was used for the gait measurement, and differential entropy algorithm was used to quantify the gait acceleration signal. The Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire was used to determine the condition on the day of the measurement. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was utilized to assess the diagnostic value of the method and determine a cut-off value. There is a statistically significant difference between gait variability in the control group and the experimental group. ROC analysis determines a cut-off differential entropy value. The cut-off value has a 97.6% probability of separating patients with spinal stenosis from healthy subjects. The Oswestry Low Back Questionnaire is well correlated with the spectral differential entropy values.
Subject(s)
Gait Disorders, Neurologic/diagnosis , Gait Disorders, Neurologic/physiopathology , Gait/physiology , Lumbar Vertebrae , Spinal Stenosis/diagnosis , Spinal Stenosis/physiopathology , Adult , Entropy , Female , Gait Disorders, Neurologic/complications , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Myography/methods , Myography/standards , Spinal Stenosis/complicationsABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to assess the gait variability of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) patients and to evaluate its postoperative progression. The hypothesis was that LSS patients' preoperative gait variability in the frequency domain was higher than the corresponding postoperative. A tri-axial accelerometer sensor was used for the gait measurement and a spectral differential entropy algorithm was used to measure the gait variability. Twelve subjects with LSS were measured before and after surgery. Preoperative measurements were performed 2 days before surgery. Postoperative measurements were performed 6 and 12 months after surgery. Preoperative gait variability was higher than the corresponding postoperative. Also, in most cases, gait variability appeared to decrease throughout the year.
Subject(s)
Gait Disorders, Neurologic/physiopathology , Gait/physiology , Lumbar Vertebrae , Preoperative Period , Spinal Stenosis/physiopathology , Adult , Aged , Female , Gait Disorders, Neurologic/complications , Gait Disorders, Neurologic/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Myography/methods , Myography/standards , Postoperative Period , Recovery of Function/physiology , Spinal Stenosis/complications , Spinal Stenosis/diagnosisABSTRACT
An accelerometer system was used to measure the characteristics of the motion of 133 healthy male soccer athletes in a 30-s walking test and the data obtained were analysed using the gait evaluation differential entropy method (GEDEM). GEDEM processes gait acceleration data and calculates an index that provides a quantitative evaluation of a subject's gait, at low cost and with negligible effect on the subject. The GEDEM index was not significantly correlated with age, body weight, body mass index, or the number of years of active training. The GEDEM value for the anterior-posterior axis showed a small negative statistically significant correlation with height and the vertical axis was moderately and statistically significantly positively correlated with the time spent training per week. The triaxial accelerometry system described here is easy for subjects and testers to use, and enables measurements to be made on the sports field to evaluate an athlete's musculoskeletal condition with respect to gait stability.
