Volume 90, Issue 11 , Pages 1880-1886, November 2009
Gait Analysis in Patients With Parkinson's Disease Off Dopaminergic Therapy
Abstract
Švehlík M, Zwick EB, Steinwender G, Linhart WE, Schwingenschuh P, Katschnig P, Ott E, Enzinger C. Gait analysis in patients with Parkinson's disease off dopaminergic therapy.
Objective
To compare time-distance, kinematic, and kinetic gait parameters in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) off dopaminergic therapy with a group of healthy control subjects.
Design
A group-comparison study.
Setting
Gait analysis laboratory.
Participants
Patients with PD (n=20) and healthy age-matched controls (n=20).
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Time-distance, kinematic, and kinetic gait variables.
Results
PD patients walked slower with shorter stride-length, comparable cadence, and longer double support times. Kinematics showed a reduction of the range of motion in the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Maximum hip extension and the ankle plantar flexion were significantly reduced. Kinetic gait parameters showed reduced push-off ankle power and lift-off hip power generation. Strong correlations between these important body advancement mechanisms and the walking velocity were observed.
Conclusions
In addition to previously described dysfunctional kinematics, abnormal kinetic parameters play an important role in the characterization of gait in PD patients off therapy. Hence, these parameters could be used to document treatment effects of parkinsonian gait disorders.
Key Words: Biomechanics, Levodopa, Neurologic gait disorders, Parkinson Disease, Rehabilitation
List of Abbreviations: PD, Parkinson's disease, L-dopa, levodopa, ROM, range of motion
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Reprints are not available from the author.
PII: S0003-9993(09)00649-2
doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2009.06.017
© 2009 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 90, Issue 11 , Pages 1880-1886, November 2009
