Gait initiation is impaired in subjects with Parkinson's disease in the OFF state: Evidence from the analysis of the anticipatory postural adjustments through wearable inertial sensors.
Gianluca Bonora, Martina Mancini, Ilaria Carpinella and 3 others
PMID 27816900WHAT IT FOUND
In people with Parkinson's who were off medication, wearable sensors measured balance preparation before stepping in agreement with force plates and showed smaller side-to-side trunk movement and longer weight transfer than controls.
Key findings
01Wearable sensor measures of gait initiation correlated significantly with force plate measures, with only medio-lateral spatial parameters significantly correlated.
02Mean absolute errors for detecting APA onset, heel-off, and toe-off were not significantly different between people with Parkinson's and controls.
03People with Parkinson's in the OFF state showed smaller medio-lateral trunk amplitudes in all phases and a significantly longer unloading phase than controls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 10 people with Parkinson's and 12 controls, and the authors call the results preliminary. Only side-to-side spatial measures showed significant correlations between sensors and force plates. The method was tested only in the OFF-medication state, and the authors say future work is needed to test ON-OFF differences. A company that made the sensors has a commercial interest in the results.
Declared interests
OHSU and Dr. Horak have a significant financial interest in APDM, the company whose wearable sensors were used. APDM has a commercial interest in the results. OHSU says this conflict was reviewed and managed.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the sensors match force plates for every gait initiation measure. Only side-to-side spatial measures showed significant correlations, and the study included only 10 people with Parkinson's and 12 controls.