Adaptation and post-adaptation effects of haptic forces on locomotion in healthy young adults.
Gianluca U Sorrento, Philippe S Archambault, Joyce Fung
PMID 29534731WHAT IT FOUND
A steady pull on the hand from a virtual leash made walking faster, lengthened stride and reduced double-limb support in 13 healthy young adults.
Some changes remained after the pull stopped, but this was a lab test, not evidence of treatment benefit.
Key findings
01All 13 participants walked faster when the leash pulled with 10 or 20 N, and average speed stayed above baseline after the pull stopped.
02Stride length increased during pulling in all 13 participants, and 10 of 13 kept it above baseline after the pull stopped; only the 20 N condition showed significant change after stopping.
03All 13 participants spent less time in double-limb support during pulling, and almost all stayed below baseline after the pull stopped.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 13 healthy young adults were studied, all without musculoskeletal, neurological or cognitive problems, so the findings do not show what would happen in patients who need rehabilitation. The pulling force was applied for 60 seconds, and the after-effect was measured for only 30 seconds, so long-term carry-over was not tested. The force was constant at 10 or 20 N rather than scaled to body mass, and body mass varied from 53 to 89 kg. Participants were all right-handed and held the leash in the right hand, so the effect on each leg may not apply to other hand preferences. Walking was on a self-paced treadmill in a virtual environment, and baseline speed was 1.0 m/s, slower than normal overground walking. The study measured only spatiotemporal gait outcomes, not joint movement or postural control measures. The authors suggest the approach could be used in post-stroke or older adults, but no patients were tested.
Declared interests
Funding was named as Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé, Richard and Edith Strauss Fellowship, CFI and CIHR.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the maintained walking speed after the pull stopped as evidence that leash pulling helps patients walk better. It was tested in 13 healthy young adults on a treadmill for 30 seconds after the force stopped, so it says nothing about clinical gait training.