Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
875724 Medical Engineering & Physics 2015 5 Pages PDF
Abstract

•Mean lateral trunk deviations over the gait cycle affect upper body 3D kinematics.•Trunk bending side (not its range) results in altered thorax and pelvic kinematics.•Bending side interacts with thorax inclination during body-weight transfer.•Results reinforce the existence of more than one typical able-bodied gait pattern.

While sagittal trunk inclinations alter upper body biomechanics, little is known about the extent of frontal trunk bending on upper body and pelvis kinematics in adults during gait and its relation to sagittal trunk inclinations. The objective was to determine the effect of the mean lateral trunk attitude on upper body and pelvis three-dimensional kinematics during gait in asymptomatic subjects. Three gait cycles were collected in 30 subjects using a motion analysis system (Vicon 612) and an established protocol. Sub-groups were formed based on the mean thorax lateral bending angle, bending side, and also sagittal tilt. These were compared based on 38 peak angles identified on pelvis, thorax and shoulder kinematics using MANOVAs. A main effect for bending side (p = 0.038) was found, especially for thorax peak angles. Statistics revealed also a significant interaction (p = 0.04993) between bending side and tilt for the thorax sagittal inclination during body-weight transfer. These results reinforce the existence of different gait patterns, which correlate upper body and pelvis motion measures. The results also suggest that frontal and sagittal trunk attitude should be considered carefully when treating a patient with impaired gait.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Engineering Biomedical Engineering
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