Article

While balance and gait limitations are hallmarks of multiple sclerosis (MS),
standard stopwatch-timed measures practical for use in the clinic are insensitive
in minimally affected patients. This prevents early detection and intervention
for mobility problems. The study sought to determine if body-worn sensors could
detect differences in balance and gait between people with MS with normal walking
speeds and healthy controls. Thirty-one MS and twenty-eight age- and sex-matched
control subjects were tested using body-worn sensors both during quiet stance and
gait (Timed Up and Go test, TUG). Results were compared to stopwatch-timed
measures. Stopwatch durations of the TUG and Timed 25 Foot Walk tests were not
significantly different between groups. However, during quiet stance with eyes
closed, people with MS had significantly greater sway acceleration amplitude than
controls (p=0.02). During gait, people with MS had greater trunk angular range of
motion in roll (medio-lateral flexion, p=0.017) and yaw (axial rotation, p=0.026)
planes. Turning duration through 180 degrees was also longer in MS (p=0.031).
Thus, body-worn motion sensors detected mobility differences between MS and
healthy controls when traditional timed tests could not. This portable technology
provides objective and quantitative mobility data previously not obtainable in
the clinic, and may prove a useful outcome measure for early mobility changes in
MS.
CI - Published by Elsevier B.V.

Langue : ANGLAIS