Effect of Weight Shift Exercises on Leg Global Synkinesis and Gait in Patients with Stroke

Reaching movements performed from a crouched body posture require a shift of body weight from both arms to one arm. This situation has remained unexamined despite the analogous load requirements during step initiation and the many studies of reaching from a seated or standing posture. To determine whether the body weight shift involves anticipatory or exclusively reactive control we obtained force plate records, hand kinematics, and arm muscle activity from 11 healthy right-handed participants. They performed reaching movements with their left and right arm in two speed contexts - 'comfortable' and 'as fast as possible' - and two postural contexts - a less stable knees-together posture and more stable knees-apart posture. Weight-shifts involved anticipatory postural actions (APA) by the reaching and stance arms that were opposing in the vertical axis and aligned in the side-to-side axis similar to APAs by the legs for step initiation. Weight-shift APAs were correlated in time and magnitude, present in both speed contexts, more vigorous with the knees placed together, and similar when reaching with the dominant or non-dominant arm. The initial weight-shift was preceded by bursts of muscle activity in the shoulder and elbow extensors (posterior deltoid and triceps lateral) of the reach arm and shoulder flexor (pectoralis major) of the stance arm which indicates their causal role; leg muscles may have indirectly contributed but were not recorded. The strong functional similarity of weight-shift APAs during crouched reaching to human stepping and cats reaching suggests that they are a core feature of posture-movement coordination.

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Assessment of Weight Shift Direction in Chronic Stroke Patients

Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives ◽

10.24171/j.phrp.2018.9.3.06 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 118-121

Author(s):

So Hyun Park

Keyword(s):

Chronic Stroke ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Weight Shift

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Sagittal Plane Knee Motion in the ACL-Deficient Knee During Body Weight Shift Exercises on Different Support Surfaces

Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy ◽

10.2519/jospt.2006.2290 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 36 (12) ◽

pp. 954-962 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Joanna Kvist

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Sagittal Plane ◽

Knee Motion ◽

Weight Shift ◽

Support Surfaces ◽

Acl Deficient ◽

Deficient Knee

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A Literature Review of Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Weight Shift Activity, Cost of Pressure Care and Role of the Occupational Therapist

British Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.4276/030802213x13651610908371 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 76 (4) ◽

pp. 169-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

May Stinson ◽

Catherine Gillan ◽

Alison Porter-Armstrong

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Pressure Ulcer ◽

Occupational Therapist ◽

Pressure Ulcer Prevention ◽

Weight Shift ◽

Activity Cost ◽

Ulcer Prevention

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‘Recoupling’ the attentional and motor control of preparatory postural adjustments to overcome Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s

10.21203/rs.3.rs-29124/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amy Maslivec ◽

Anna Fielding ◽

Mark Wilson ◽

Meriel Norris ◽

William Young

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Critical Evaluation ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Baseline Condition ◽

Verbal Instruction ◽

Step Initiation ◽

Weight Shift ◽

Pronounced Reduction ◽

Weight Shifting

Abstract Objectives: This study examined if people with Parkinson’s and freezing of gait pathology (FoG) could be trained to increase preparatory weight-shift amplitude, and facilitate step initiation during FoG. Methods: Thirty-five people with Parkinson’s and FoG attempted to initiate forward walking from a stationary position caused by a freeze (n=17, FoG-F) or voluntarily stop (n=18, FoG-NF) in a Baseline condition and two conditions where an increased weight-shift amplitude was trained via: i) explicit verbal instruction, and ii) implicit movement analogies. Results: At Baseline, weight-shift amplitudes were smaller during: i) unsuccessful, compared to successful step initiations (FoG-F group), and ii) successful step initiations in the FoG-F group compared to FoG-NF. Both Verbal and Analogy training resulted in significant increases in weight-shift amplitude in both groups, and a corresponding pronounced reduction in unsuccessful attempts to initiate stepping (FoG-F group). Conclusions: Hypometric preparatory weight-shifting is associated with failure to initiate forward stepping in people with Parkinson’s and FoG. However, impaired weight-shift characteristics are modifiable through conscious strategies. This current study provides a novel and critical evaluation of preparatory weight-shift amplitudes during FoG events. The intervention described represents an attractive ‘rescue’ strategy and should be further scrutinised regarding limitations posed by physical and cognitive deficits.

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Eddy-covariance flux measurements with a weight-shift microlight aircraft

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-5-1699-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 (7) ◽

pp. 1699-1717 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

S. Metzger ◽

W. Junkermann ◽

M. Mauder ◽

F. Beyrich ◽

K. Butterbach-Bahl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Eddy Covariance ◽

Low Cost ◽

Sensible Heat Flux ◽

Flux Measurement ◽

Wind Measurement ◽

Airborne Measurements ◽

Weight Shift ◽

Flux Measurements

Abstract. The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility and quality of eddy-covariance flux measurements from a weight-shift microlight aircraft (WSMA). Firstly, we investigate the precision of the wind measurement (σu,v ≤ 0.09 m s−1, σw = 0.04 m s−1), the lynchpin of flux calculations from aircraft. From here, the smallest resolvable changes in friction velocity (0.02 m s−1), and sensible- (5 W m−2) and latent (3 W m−2) heat flux are estimated. Secondly, a seven-day flight campaign was performed near Lindenberg (Germany). Here we compare measurements of wind, temperature, humidity and respective fluxes between a tall tower and the WSMA. The maximum likelihood functional relationship (MLFR) between tower and WSMA measurements considers the random error in the data, and shows very good agreement of the scalar averages. The MLFRs for standard deviations (SDs, 2–34%) and fluxes (17–21%) indicate higher estimates of the airborne measurements compared to the tower. Considering the 99.5% confidence intervals, the observed differences are not significant, with exception of the temperature SD. The comparison with a large-aperture scintillometer reveals lower sensible heat flux estimates at both tower (−40 to −25%) and WSMA (−25–0%). We relate the observed differences to (i) inconsistencies in the temperature and wind measurement at the tower and (ii) the measurement platforms' differing abilities to capture contributions from non-propagating eddies. These findings encourage the use of WSMA as a low cost and highly versatile flux measurement platform.

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