Costa Andréia Abud da Silva, Santos Luciana Oliveira Dos, Mauerberg-deCastro Eliane, Moraes Renato
Ribeirão Preto Medical School, Graduate Program in Rehabilitation and Functional Performance, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Biomechanics and Motor Control Lab, School of Physical Education and Sport of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Department of Physical Education, Biosciences Institute, São Paulo State University, Brazil.
Neurosci Lett. 2018 Feb 14;666:133-138. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.12.052. Epub 2017 Dec 26.
This study assessed the contribution of the "anchor system's" haptic information to balance control during walking at two levels of difficulty. Seventeen young adults and seventeen older adults performed 20 randomized trials of tandem walking in a straight line, on level ground and on a slightly-raised balance beam, both with and without the use of the anchors. The anchor consists of two flexible cables, whose ends participants hold in each hand, to which weights (125 g) are attached at the opposing ends, and which rest on the ground. As the participants walk, they pull on the cables, dragging the anchors. Spatiotemporal gait variables (step speed and single- and double-support duration) were processed using retro-reflective markers on anatomical sites. An accelerometer positioned in the cervical region registered trunk acceleration. Walking on the balance beam increased single- and double-support duration and reduced step speed in older adults, which suggests that this condition was more difficult than walking on the level ground. The anchors reduced trunk acceleration in the frontal plane, but the level of difficulty of the walking task showed no effect. Thus, varying the difficulty of the task had no influence on the way in which participants used the anchor system while tandem walking. The older adults exhibited more difficulty in walking on the balance beam as compared to the younger adults; however, the effect of the anchor system was similar in both groups.
本研究评估了“锚定系统”的触觉信息在两个难度级别行走过程中对平衡控制的贡献。17名年轻人和17名老年人在平坦地面和略微抬高的平衡木上进行了20次随机串联行走试验，试验分为使用锚定装置和不使用锚定装置两种情况。锚定装置由两根柔性电缆组成，参与者双手各持一端，电缆两端连接有重物（125克），且电缆置于地面。参与者行走时，拉动电缆，拖动锚定装置。使用解剖部位上的反光标记处理时空步态变量（步速以及单支撑和双支撑持续时间）。置于颈部区域的加速度计记录躯干加速度。在平衡木上行走会增加老年人的单支撑和双支撑持续时间，并降低步速，这表明这种情况比在平坦地面行走更困难。锚定装置可降低额平面内的躯干加速度，但行走任务的难度水平未产生影响。因此，改变任务难度对参与者在串联行走时使用锚定系统的方式没有影响。与年轻人相比，老年人在平衡木上行走时表现出更多困难；然而，锚定系统在两组中的效果相似。
