Assessment of the Kinematic Adaptations in Parkinson’s Disease Using the Gait Profile Score: Influences of Trunk Posture, a Pilot Study

Introduction: Postural abnormalities are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and lead to gait abnormalities. Relationships between changes in the trunk posture of PD patients and gait profile score (GPS) and gait spatiotemporal parameters are poorly investigated. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between trunk posture, GPS, and gait spatiotemporal parameters, in patients with PD. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three people with PD and nineteen age-matched healthy people participated in this study. A 3D gait kinematical analysis was applied to all participants using the Plug-In Gait Full BodyTM tool. Trunk and limb kinematics patterns and gait spatio-temporal parameters of patients with PD and the control group were compared. Additionally, correlations between trunk kinematics patterns, gait spatio-temporal parameters, and GPS of the PD group were tested. Results: Cadence, opposite foot off, step time, single support, double support, foot off, gait speed, trunk kinematics, and GPS showed significant differences between the two groups (p ≤ 0.05). Posture of the trunk during gait was not related to the spatio-temporal parameters and gait profile score in the PD group. The trunk flexor pattern influenced GPS domains, mainly of the ankle and the knee. Discussion and Conclusions: Flexed posture of the trunk in patients with PD seems to influence both ankle and knee movement patterns during the gait. The GPS analysis provided direct and simplified kinematic information for the PD group. These results may have implications for understanding the importance of considering the positioning of the trunk during gait.

Inter-individual variability in a repetitive lifting task

Trunk kinematics directly impact the biomechanical loading of the tissues of the low back. Quantifying the variability in trunk kinematics may provide deeper insights into biomechanical loading and low back injury risk. Inter-lifter variability in trunk kinematics was assessed as twenty participants performed a repetitive lifting task at three levels of the NIOSH Lifting Index. Trunk kinematics were captured and Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance was used to test the hypothesis that variance in kinematic parameters increased as a function of level of lifting index. Results showed considerable levels of variability in all kinematics parameters, and for sagittal range of motion, mean sagittal velocity, transverse range of motion, and mean transverse velocity the variance was significantly affected (p<0.05) by level of lifting index. The results of this study demonstrate that variability (both inter- and intra-lifter) should be considered as one considers the relative risk of a lifting task.

Enhancing the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation using ComputerVision

Trunk kinematics (i.e. speed and acceleration), a risk factor associated with low back pain (LBP), is difficult to measure in the field and is not incorporated in popular lifting analysis tools. In this study, computationally efficient computer vision-based methods were used to estimate trunk kinematics from video recordings collected in a previous prospective study. We explored the relationships between trunk kinematics and health outcomes, and if incorporating trunk kinematics into the revised NIOSH Lifting Equation (RNLE) may improve its predictability of LBP risk. Significant correlations between the percentage of LBP and the average trunk speed and acceleration were found. A multivariate logistic regression model was constructed using the kinematics variables and the RNLE lifting index (LI) as independent variables to predict the probability that a task was associated with high LBP risk. When trunk kinematics was incorporated to the LI model, the predictability of the model improved significantly ( p=0.003).

Comparison of Pelvis and Trunk Kinematics Between Youth and Collegiate Windmill Softball Pitchers

Background: The windmill softball pitch is a dynamic sporting movement that places softball pitchers at high risk of injury. Unlike baseball, there is limited research into the mechanical differences between softball pitchers of varying skill levels. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to compare pelvis and trunk kinematics between youth and collegiate softball pitchers. It was hypothesized that there would be significant differences in pelvis and trunk kinematics between these 2 groups. Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: The pelvic and trunk kinematics of 90 softball pitchers were collected during full-effort pitching using a 3-dimensional motion capture system. Participants were grouped based on their age at the time of data collection (35 youth [mean age, 11 ± 1 years]; 55 collegiate [mean age, 20 ± 2 years]). We compared between-group differences in pelvic posterior tilt, lateral tilt, axial rotation, and axial rotation velocity as well as trunk extension, lateral flexion, axial rotation, and axial rotation velocity during the pitching phase between start of pitch and ball release (BR) using 1-dimensional statistical parametric mapping. Statistical significance was determined using Holmes-Šidák stepdown correction–adjusted P values ( P ′). Results: Compared with youth pitchers, collegiate pitchers exhibited a more posteriorly tilted pelvis from the moment of start of pitch until 94% of the way between start of pitch and BR ( P ′ = .002) and a more laterally flexed trunk toward the glove side from the moment of start of pitch until 71% of the way between start of pitch and BR ( P ′ = .010). Conclusion: Collegiate pitchers displayed a more posteriorly tilted pelvis and more laterally flexed trunk toward the glove side during the windmill pitching motion when compared with youth pitchers. Clinical Relevance: These findings add to the growing body of softball research and help elucidate mechanical differences between youth and collegiate softball pitchers.