The learning process of gait retraining using real-time feedback in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis

The learning process of gait retraining using real-time feedback in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis

Richards, Rosie E. (Amsterdam UMC)
van der Esch, Martin (Reade Centre for Rehabilitation and Rheumatology)
van den Noort, Josien C. (Amsterdam UMC; Universiteit van Amsterdam)
Harlaar, J. (TU Delft Biomechatronics & Human-Machine Control; Amsterdam UMC)

2018

The objective of this study was to investigate the learning process of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients learning to change their foot progression angle (FPA) over a six-week toe-in gait training program. Sixteen patients with medial KOA completed a six-week toe-in gait training program with real-time biofeedback. Patients walked on an instrumented treadmill while receiving real-time feedback on their foot progression angle (FPA) with reference to a target angle. The FPA difference (difference between target and actual FPA) was analyzed during i) natural walking, ii) walking with feedback, iii) walking without feedback and iv) walking with a dual-task at the start and end of the training program. Self-reported difficulty and abnormality and time spent walking and training were also analyzed. The FPA difference during natural walking was significantly decreased from median 6.9 to median 3.6° i.e. by 3.3° in week six (p < 0.001); adding feedback reduced FPA difference to almost zero. However the dual-task condition increased the FPA difference at week one compared to the feedback condition (median difference: 1.8°, p = 0.022), but after training this effect was minimized (median difference: 0.6°, p = 0.167). Self-reported abnormality and difficulty decreased from median 5 to 3 and from median 6 to 3 on the NRS respectively (p < 0.05). Patients with medial KOA could reduce the FPA difference during natural walking after the gait retraining program, with some evidence of a reduction in the cognitive demand needed to achieve this. Automation of adaptions might need support from more permanent feedback using wearable technologies.

Dual-task
Gait modifications
Knee osteoarthritis
Motor learning
Real-time feedback

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:020e5de1-8010-464f-9a5d-2a3be8153047

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.02.023

2018-08-23

0966-6362

Gait & Posture, 62, 1-6

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2018 Rosie E. Richards, Martin van der Esch, Josien C. van den Noort, J. Harlaar