Bakhtiyarian Rezvan, Majlesi Mahdi, Azadian Elaheh, Ali Makwan Jabar
Department of Sport Biomechanics, Ha.C., Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.
Department of Motor Behavior, Ha.C., Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.
Gait Posture. 2025 Sep;121:85-92. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2025.05.002. Epub 2025 May 5.
Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) commonly experience postural instability during walking and obstacle crossing. Previous research has explored virtual reality (VR) as a rehabilitation tool that affects gait.
How does a virtual reality environment influence the kinetic characteristics of gait during obstacle crossing in individuals with Parkinson's disease compared to real-world conditions?
The study included 15 individuals with PD and 17 matched healthy control participants. The moment and power of lower extremity joints during walking and obstacle crossing conditions in real and VR environments were measured using three-dimensional motion analysis and force platforms.
The results indicate that individuals with PD demonstrated higher hip extensor moments during normal gait (NG) and obstacle crossing (OBS) tasks, accompanied by lower hip flexor moments compared to the control group. Moreover, PD individuals exhibited increased internal rotation hip joint moments during VR obstacle crossing (VR-OBS) tasks compared to NG.
Walking in a VR environment altered the kinetic status in both groups, potentially due to cautious walking to maintain stability. The greatest difference between the two groups was observed in the magnitude of joint moment in the sagittal plane, likely influenced by differences in walking speed. These findings underscore the unique joint moment patterns exhibited by PD patients during various tasks. Walking in a VR environment impacts the kinetic parameters of gait, which may have implications for designing rehabilitation programs aimed at improving gait stability in PD individuals. Clinically, these kinetic alterations highlight VR's potential as a safe modality for gait rehabilitation and fall prevention in PD.
帕金森病（PD）患者在行走和跨越障碍物时通常会出现姿势不稳。先前的研究已探索将虚拟现实（VR）作为一种影响步态的康复工具。
与现实世界环境相比，虚拟现实环境如何影响帕金森病患者在跨越障碍物时的步态动力学特征？
该研究纳入了15名帕金森病患者和17名匹配的健康对照参与者。使用三维运动分析和测力平台测量了在现实和虚拟现实环境中行走及跨越障碍物时下肢关节的力矩和功率。
结果表明，与对照组相比，帕金森病患者在正常步态（NG）和跨越障碍物（OBS）任务中表现出更高的髋伸肌力矩，同时髋屈肌力矩较低。此外，与正常步态相比，帕金森病患者在虚拟现实跨越障碍物（VR - OBS）任务中表现出髋关节内旋力矩增加。
在虚拟现实环境中行走改变了两组的动力学状态，这可能是由于谨慎行走以保持稳定性所致。两组之间最大的差异出现在矢状面关节力矩的大小上，这可能受行走速度差异的影响。这些发现强调了帕金森病患者在各种任务中表现出的独特关节力矩模式。在虚拟现实环境中行走会影响步态的动力学参数，这可能对设计旨在改善帕金森病患者步态稳定性的康复计划具有启示意义。临床上，这些动力学改变凸显了虚拟现实作为帕金森病步态康复和预防跌倒的一种安全方式的潜力。
