Khiyara Ines, Sidaway Ben, Hejrati Babak
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Biorobotics and Biomechanics Lab, University of Maine, 168 College Ave, Orono, ME, 04469, USA.
School of Physical Therapy, Husson University, 1 College Cir, Bangor, ME, 04401, USA.
Ann Biomed Eng. 2025 Apr;53(4):855-866. doi: 10.1007/s10439-024-03669-9. Epub 2024 Dec 27.
Current gait rehabilitation protocols for older adults typically attempt to effect changes in leg movements, while the role of arm movements is often ignored despite evidence of the neurological coupling of the upper and lower extremities. In the present work, we examine the effectiveness of a novel wearable haptic cueing system that targets arm swing to improve various gait parameters in older adults.
Twenty participants ( years) were recruited to analyze their gait during normal and fast walking without haptic cueing. Vibrotactors attached to the arms were then used to give haptic cues that were designed to either increase or decrease arm swing cycle time. The effects of such cueing on gait symmetry and spatiotemporal parameters were then analyzed.
The presentation of the haptic cues significantly altered arm swing cycle time resulting in an increase in gait speed of 18.2% when arm cycle time was decreased and a 12.3% decrease in gait speed when arm cycle time was lengthened. The response to haptic cues was immediate, emphasizing the tight coupling of the arm and legs in the production of gait. Spatiotemporal analysis revealed improvements in gait parameters and symmetry metrics, indicating enhanced coordination between limbs when using tactile cues. Subjective evaluations further supported the system's potential for gait training.
The results reveal the significant potential of the haptic cueing system to modulate gait through arm swing manipulation, leveraging interlimb neural coupling. This aligns with the growing need for home-based gait training solutions, particularly for the older population, and presents a novel approach that could be integrated into current gait rehabilitation practices.
目前针对老年人的步态康复方案通常试图改变腿部运动，然而尽管有证据表明上肢和下肢存在神经耦合，但手臂运动的作用往往被忽视。在本研究中，我们考察了一种新型可穿戴触觉提示系统的有效性，该系统旨在通过调整手臂摆动来改善老年人的各种步态参数。
招募了20名参与者（年龄 岁），分析他们在无触觉提示的正常行走和快速行走过程中的步态。然后使用附着在手臂上的振动器给出触觉提示，这些提示旨在增加或减少手臂摆动周期时间。随后分析这种提示对步态对称性和时空参数的影响。
触觉提示的呈现显著改变了手臂摆动周期时间，当手臂周期时间缩短时，步态速度增加了18.2%，而当手臂周期时间延长时，步态速度下降了12.3%。对触觉提示的反应是即时的，这强调了在步态产生过程中手臂和腿部的紧密耦合。时空分析显示步态参数和对称性指标有所改善，表明使用触觉提示时肢体间的协调性增强。主观评价进一步支持了该系统在步态训练方面的潜力。
结果表明，触觉提示系统通过操纵手臂摆动来调节步态具有巨大潜力，这利用了肢体间的神经耦合。这符合对居家步态训练解决方案日益增长的需求，特别是针对老年人群体，并提出了一种可整合到当前步态康复实践中的新方法。
