Sports Physical Therapy Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Dec 8;23(24):9695. doi: 10.3390/s23249695.
Leg length discrepancy (LLD) is a common postural deviation of musculoskeletal origin, which causes compensatory reactions and often leads to injury. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of artificially induced LLD on gait symmetry by means of the spatiotemporal gait parameters and ground reaction forces (GRFs) using a treadmill equipped with capacitive sensors (instrumented) as well as the EMG activity of trunk and hip muscles during walking and running. Twenty-six healthy male and female college students were required to perform two sets of four 2.5-min walking and running trials on an instrumented treadmill at 5.6 and 8.1 km·h, respectively, without (0) and with 1, 2, and 3 cm LLD implemented by wearing a special rubber shoe. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way repeated measures or a mixed-design ANOVA. Most spatiotemporal gait parameters and GRFs demonstrated an increase or decrease as LLD increased either on the short-limb or the long-limb side, with changes becoming more apparent at ≥1 cm LLD during walking and ≥2 cm LLD during running. The EMG activity of trunk and hip muscles was not affected by LLD. Our findings showed that gait symmetry in terms of treadmill-based spatiotemporal parameters of gait and GRFs is affected by LLD, the magnitude of which depends on the speed of locomotion.
肢体长度差异（LLD）是一种常见的源于肌肉骨骼的姿势偏差，它会引起代偿反应，并且常常导致损伤。本研究的目的是通过使用配备电容传感器的跑步机（仪器化）以及在行走和跑步过程中测量躯干和臀部肌肉的肌电图活动，来研究人为诱导的 LLD 对步态对称性的影响。要求 26 名健康的男女大学生在配备仪器的跑步机上分别以 5.6 和 8.1 km·h 的速度进行两组各 4 次 2.5 分钟的行走和跑步试验，不（0）和使用特殊橡胶鞋分别施加 1、2 和 3 cm LLD。使用单向重复测量或混合设计 ANOVA 进行统计分析。大多数步态时空参数和地面反力（GRF）在短肢或长肢侧随着 LLD 的增加而增加或减少，在行走时≥1 cm LLD 和在跑步时≥2 cm LLD 时变化更为明显。躯干和臀部肌肉的肌电图活动不受 LLD 影响。我们的研究结果表明，基于跑步机的步态时空参数和 GRF 的步态对称性受到 LLD 的影响，其程度取决于运动速度。
