Inai Takuma, Kudo Shoma, Tsuchida Wakako, Fujimoto Masahiro
Health and Medical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024 Jul 17;12:1394314. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1394314. eCollection 2024.
Knee sleeves are commonly used to address knee-related concerns, particularly in older individuals. Although previous studies have demonstrated their efficacy in improving gait and functional outcomes in knees with pathological conditions, the effectiveness of knee sleeves for improving gait characteristics in healthy older adults remains unclear. The harmonic ratio (HR), an index for assessing gait symmetry commonly used to discriminate between individuals with different functional levels, can be used to detect alterations in gait characteristics. This study investigated the effects of knee sleeves on gait symmetry in healthy older adults. Sixteen healthy community-dwelling older adults walked barefoot with and without knee sleeves at normal and fast speeds. Gait symmetry indices (HR and improved HR [iHR]) and spatiotemporal gait parameters were compared under different conditions. A significant interaction between knee condition and walking speed was observed for mean iHR in the anteroposterior direction ( = 0.006). A significant simple main effect of knee condition was found during fast walking, with a larger iHR with knee sleeves than without ( = 0.002). In the condition without knee sleeves, the iHR was significantly lower during fast walking than during normal walking ( = 0.035). Furthermore, a significant main effect of knee condition was observed for the variability of iHR in the anteroposterior direction, with a smaller variability when walking with knee sleeves than when walking without ( = 0.006). These results suggest that knee sleeves may enhance gait symmetry along the anteroposterior direction, particularly during fast walking, where symmetry disruption is more likely than walking at a comfortable pace. A significant reduction in gait symmetry variability also suggests a stabilizing effect on gait dynamics. These findings provide the first evidence supporting the efficacy of knee sleeves for improving gait symmetry. The use of knee sleeves could be a valuable option for restoring disrupted gait symmetry during fast walking, with potential implications for reducing the risk of falls.
护膝常用于解决与膝盖相关的问题，尤其是在老年人中。尽管先前的研究已经证明它们在改善患有病理状况的膝盖的步态和功能结果方面具有功效，但护膝对健康老年人步态特征的改善效果仍不清楚。谐波比（HR）是一种常用于区分不同功能水平个体的评估步态对称性的指标，可用于检测步态特征的变化。本研究调查了护膝对健康老年人步态对称性的影响。16名居住在社区的健康老年人在佩戴和不佩戴护膝的情况下，以正常速度和快速行走时均赤脚行走。比较了不同条件下的步态对称性指标（HR和改良HR [iHR]）以及时空步态参数。在前向后方向上，观察到膝盖状况和行走速度之间对于平均iHR存在显著交互作用（= 0.006）。在快速行走期间发现了膝盖状况的显著简单主效应，佩戴护膝时的iHR比不佩戴时更大（= 0.002）。在不佩戴护膝的情况下，快速行走时的iHR显著低于正常行走时（= 0.035）。此外，在前向后方向上观察到膝盖状况对于iHR的变异性存在显著主效应，佩戴护膝行走时的变异性小于不佩戴时（= 0.006）。这些结果表明，护膝可能会增强前向后方向上的步态对称性，特别是在快速行走期间，此时对称性破坏比以舒适步伐行走时更有可能发生。步态对称性变异性的显著降低也表明对步态动力学有稳定作用。这些发现提供了首个支持护膝改善步态对称性功效的证据。使用护膝可能是恢复快速行走时破坏的步态对称性的一个有价值的选择，对降低跌倒风险具有潜在意义。
