Article

Proprioception is important for proper motor control. As the central
nervous system modulates how sensory information is processed during movement
(sensory gating), proprioceptive tests performed at rest do not correlate well
with performance during dynamic tasks such as walking. Proprioception therefore
needs to be assessed during movement execution. OBJECTIVES:
1) To develop a test
evaluating the ability to detect movement errors during walking, and its
test-retest reliability;
2) to quantify the relationship between proprioceptive
threshold (obtained with this new test) and performance in a standardized dynamic
balance task. METHOD: Thirty healthy subjects walked on a treadmill while wearing
a robotized ankle-foot orthosis (rAFO) for 2 bouts of 6min on 2 evaluation
sessions (test-retest reliability). Force perturbations resisting ankle
dorsiflexion during swing were applied to the ankle via the rAFO (150ms duration,
variable amplitude). Participants pushed a button when they detected the
perturbations. The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) was used to evaluate
dynamic balance. ANALYSIS: Angular differences between perturbed and
non-perturbed gait cycles were used to quantify movement error. Detection
threshold was defined as the minimal movement error at which 50% of the
perturbations were perceived. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs)
estimated test-retest reliability, and Pearson coefficients were used to
determine the correlation between detection threshold and SEBT. RESULTS:
Detection threshold was 5.31+/-2.12 degrees . Good reliability (ICC=0.70) and a
moderate to strong correlation to SEBT (r=-0.57 to -0.76) were found. CONCLUSION:
Force perturbations produced by the robotized AFO provides a reliable way of
evaluating proprioception during walking.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS