Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Piazza d'Armi, 09123 Cagliari, Italy.
Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Piazza d'Armi, 09123 Cagliari, Italy.
Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2018 Jan;19:129-133. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2017.11.021. Epub 2017 Dec 2.
In recent times, increasing safety concerns have been associated with the use of mobile phones by pedestrians. In particular, texting has been shown to significantly alter gait patterns. However, no specific investigations have been performed on people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS), who are already characterized by gait dysfunctions caused by the disease.
To assess the existence of possible alterations in spatio-temporal parameters of gait in pwMS when simultaneously texting on a smartphone and walking.
Fifty-four pwMS (mean age 40.5 ± 10.5) and 40 age-matched unaffected individuals were tested in two conditions: walking, and walking while texting on a smartphone. Spatio-temporal parameters of gait were assessed using a wearable accelerometer located on the lower back.
Texting induces reduction of gait speed, stride length and cadence in both groups, but such changes were smaller in magnitude in pwMS. An increase of stance and double support and reduction of swing phase were observed in pwMS only.
Texting alters gait patterns of pwMS differently from unaffected individuals, probably due to a different prioritization of the task, which appears to take into account the motor and sensory impairments associated with the disease by favoring the motor task.
最近，人们对行人使用手机的安全性越来越关注。特别是，发短信已被证明会显著改变步态模式。然而，对于已经存在由疾病引起的步态功能障碍的多发性硬化症患者（pwMS），尚未进行特定的研究。
评估 pwMS 在同时使用智能手机发短信和行走时步态时空参数是否存在可能的改变。
对 54 名 pwMS（平均年龄 40.5±10.5）和 40 名年龄匹配的无影响个体进行了两项测试：行走和行走时使用智能手机发短信。使用位于下背部的可穿戴加速度计评估步态的时空参数。
发短信会导致两组的步行速度、步幅和步频降低，但 pwMS 组的变化幅度较小。仅在 pwMS 中观察到站立和双支撑时间增加以及摆动时间减少。
发短信会改变 pwMS 的步态模式，不同于无影响个体，这可能是由于对任务的不同优先级，考虑到与疾病相关的运动和感觉障碍，该任务似乎更有利于运动任务。
