Aoki O, Otani Y, Morishita S, Domen K; Gait Posture. 2016 Dec 19;52:301-307
Downward gazing is commonly observed among patients after a
stroke during standing or walking as they struggle to maintain
equilibrium. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of fixed
gazing and downward gazing on trunk control ability during gait. Sixteen
subjects after a stroke (age: 51.3±4.9years) and seven healthy subjects
(age: 65.1±3.4years) participated in this study. Participants walked
10m at a comfortable speed while they faced forward (no gaze point),
gazed forward (with a fixed gaze point), gazed downward, and gazed
downward while concealing their legs. Trunk acceleration was measured
using tri-axial accelerometers attached to the back of the upper (C7
spinous process) and lower (L3 spinous process) trunk. The coefficient
of attenuation (CoA) of acceleration at the trunk was computed to assess
trunk control ability. Results in the stroke group showed that the CoA
during fixed-point and downward gazing was better than that while facing
forward with no gaze point (p<0.001). In the stroke group, the CoA
during gazing downward with their legs concealed was worse than that
during downward gazing. Our findings indicate that patients after a
stroke might use visual information for reducing their neck oscillation
(C7) during fixed-point and downward gazing. Our results indicate that
the visual information during downward gazing might work the same as
during fixed-point gazing.
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