Article

Objectives were (1) to explore differences in gait-specific long-term
memory structures and gait performance between knee osteoarthrosis patients and
healthy subjects and (2) to identify the extent to which the gait-specific mental
representation is associated with gait performance.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional
study. SUBJECTS: In total, 18 knee osteoarthrosis patients and 18 control
subjects. METHODS: Spatio-temporal (gait speed, step length) and temporophasic
(stance time, swing time, single support time, total double support time) gait
parameters and gait variability were measured with an electronic walkway
(OptoGait). The mental representation was assessed using the structural
dimensional analysis of mental representations (SDA-M). RESULTS: (1) Patients
showed significantly longer stance times ( P < 0.002) and total double support
times, shorter swing times and single support times, a decreased gait speed (
P-values < 0.001) and structural differences in the gait-specific mental
representation as compared with the healthy controls. (2) Correlation analyses
revealed the mental representation of the human gait to be associated with actual
gait performance in osteoarthrosis patients. Double support times were positively
associated with the structural quality of the mental representation and step
length variability was positively associated with the number of sequencing errors
in the representation. CONCLUSION: The gait-specific mental representation and
actual gait performance differ between patients with severe knee osteoarthrosis
and healthy controls, and both are linked to one another. This finding suggests
that musculoskeletal disorders can lead to changes in the mental representation
of the gait, and as such the SDA-M could provide useful information to improve
the rehabilitation following osteoarthrosis.

Langue : ANGLAIS