Article

The relative importance of lower extremity and trunk muscle function
to gait in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is unknown. Objective: This study
aimed to investigate the association of lower extremity and trunk muscle function
with gait performance in people who have MS and mild-to-moderate disability.
Methods: Participants
were people who had an Expanded Disability Status Scale score of </= 5.5. Eleven
lower extremity and trunk muscles were assessed using handheld dynamometry or
endurance tests. Gait performance was assessed with the Timed 25-Foot (7.62 m)
Walk (T25FW) and 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). Regression analysis was used to
quantify the association between gait outcomes and muscle variables. Results:
Seventy-two participants with MS and a mean Expanded Disability Status Scale
score of 3.5 (SD = 1.14) were enrolled. Adjusted for age and sex, the
multivariate model including hip abduction, ankle plantar flexion, trunk flexion,
and knee flexion explained 57% of the adjusted variance in the T25FW; hip
abduction, ankle plantar flexion, and trunk flexion explained 61% of the adjusted
variance in the 6MWT. The strongest predictors were ankle plantar flexion
endurance for the T25FW and hip abduction strength for the 6MWT: a 1-SD increase
in ankle plantar flexion (15.2 heel-raise repetitions) was associated with a
0.33-second reduction in the T25WT (95% CI = - 0.71 to - 0.14 seconds); a 1-SD
increase in normalized hip abduction strength (0.14 kg/body mass index) was
associated with a 54.4-m increase in the 6MWT (28.99 to 79.81 m). Limitations:
Different measurement scales for independent variables were included because the
muscle function assessment used either force or endurance. Conclusions: For the
major muscles in the lower extremity and trunk, hip abduction, ankle plantar
flexion, trunk flexion, and knee flexion were the strongest predictors of gait performance.

Langue : ANGLAIS