Reliability of posturographic measures obtained during instrumental assessment of trunk control using inertial sensors in individuals with spinal cord injury

The contributions of intrinsic (passive) and extrinsic (active) properties of the human trunk, in terms of the simultaneous actions about the hip and spinal joints, to the control of sagittal and coronal seated balance were examined. Able-bodied (ABD) and spinal-cord-injured (SCI) volunteers sat on a moving platform which underwent small amplitude perturbations in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions while changes to trunk orientation were measured. A linear parametric model that related platform movement to trunk angle was fit to the experimental data by identifying model parameters in the time domain. The results showed that spinal cord injury leads to a systematic reduction in the extrinsic characteristics, while most of the intrinsic characteristics were rarely affected. In both SCI and ABD individuals, passive characteristics alone were not enough to maintain seated balance. Passive stiffness in the ML direction was almost 3 times that in the AP direction, making more extrinsic mechanisms necessary for balance in the latter direction. Proportional and derivative terms of the extrinsic model made the largest contribution to the overall output from the active system, implying that a simple proportional plus derivative (PD) controller structure will suffice for restoring seated balance after spinal cord injury.

Download Full-text

Towards a Mobile Gait Analysis for Patients with a Spinal Cord Injury: A Robust Algorithm Validated for Slow Walking Speeds

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21217381 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (21) ◽

pp. 7381

Author(s):

Charlotte Werner ◽

Chris Awai Awai Easthope ◽

Armin Curt ◽

László Demkó

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Spinal Cord Injury ◽

Gait Analysis ◽

Clinical Decision Making ◽

Inertial Sensors ◽

Clinical Decision ◽

Cord Injury ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

The Individual ◽

Walking Speeds

Spinal cord injury (SCI) patients suffer from diverse gait deficits depending on the severity of their injury. Gait assessments can objectively track the progress during rehabilitation and support clinical decision making, but a comprehensive gait analysis requires far more complex setups and time-consuming protocols that are not feasible in the daily clinical routine. As using inertial sensors for mobile gait analysis has started to gain ground, this work aimed to develop a sensor-based gait analysis for the specific population of SCI patients that measures the spatio-temporal parameters of typical gait laboratories for day-to-day clinical applications. The proposed algorithm uses shank-mounted inertial sensors and personalized thresholds to detect steps and gait events according to the individual gait profiles. The method was validated in nine SCI patients and 17 healthy controls walking on an instrumented treadmill while wearing reflective markers for motion capture used as a gold standard. The sensor-based algorithm (i) performed similarly well for the two cohorts and (ii) is robust enough to cover the diverse gait deficits of SCI patients, from slow (0.3 m/s) to preferred walking speeds.

Download Full-text

Transcutaneous Spinal Stimulation: Safety and Feasibility for Trunk Control in Children With Spinal Cord Injury

Case Medical Research ◽

10.31525/ct1-nct03975634 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Spinal Cord Injury ◽

Trunk Control ◽

Cord Injury

Download Full-text

Contribution of Trunk Muscles to Upright Sitting with Segmental Support in Children with Spinal Cord Injury

Children ◽

10.3390/children7120278 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 278

Author(s):

Goutam Singh ◽

Sevda Aslan ◽

Beatrice Ugiliweneza ◽

Andrea Behrman

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Spinal Cord Injury ◽

Surface Electromyography ◽

Muscle Activation ◽

Trunk Muscles ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Trunk Control ◽

Rectus Abdominus ◽

Cord Injury

To investigate and compare trunk control and muscle activation during uncompensated sitting in children with and without spinal cord injury (SCI). Static sitting trunk control in ten typically developing (TD) children (5 females, 5 males, mean (SD) age of 6 (2)y) and 26 children with SCI (9 females, 17 males, 5(2)y) was assessed and compared using the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) test while recording surface electromyography (EMG) from trunk muscles. The SCI group scored significantly lower on the SATCo compared to the TD group. The SCI group produced significantly higher thoracic-paraspinal activation at the lower-ribs, and, below-ribs support levels, and rectus-abdominus activation at below-ribs, pelvis, and no-support levels than the TD group. The SCI group produced significantly higher lumbar-paraspinal activation at inferior-scapula and no-support levels. Children with SCI demonstrated impaired trunk control with the ability to activate trunk muscles above and below the injury level.

Download Full-text