Limitation of Ankle Mobility Challenges Gait Stability While Walking on Lateral Inclines

Conference paper (2021)

Authors

Maarten Prins Military Rehabilitation Center Aardenburg
N. Kluft Intelligent Vehicles - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering , Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Wieke Philippart Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Han Houdijk University Medical Center Groningen
Jaap H. van Dieën Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Sjoerd M. Bruijn Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Research Group
Intelligent Vehicles (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

2021

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Cognitive Robotics

Research Group

Intelligent Vehicles

Abstract

Exoskeletons often allow limited movement of the ankle joint. This could increase the chance of falling while walking, particularly on challenging surfaces, such as lateral inclines. In this study, the effect of a mobility limiting ankle brace on gait stability in the frontal plane was assessed, while participants walked on lateral inclines. The brace negatively affected gait stability when it was worn on the leg that was on the vertically lower side or ‘valley side’ of the lateral incline, which would indicate an increased risk of falling in that direction.