Rhythmic movement and rhythmic auditory cues enhance anticipatory postural adjustment of gait initiation

Effect of Moving Tactile Stimuli to Mimic Altered Weight Distribution During Gait on Quiet Stance Body Sway

Our purpose in the present study was to examine whether moving tactile stimuli to the sole to mimic moving weight distribution over the feet during gait would influence body sway in quiet stance. Fifteen healthy males maintained the quiet stance, and we delivered moving tactile stimuli to mimic the change in their weight distribution during gait. Moving tactile stimuli did not change the length of the center of pressure (COP) displacement and COP position. Vision decreased the length of the COP, but it did not interact with moving tactile stimuli for the COP length and position. The COP position rhythmically moved in the medial-lateral axis along with the cycle of moving tactile stimuli. The COP was at the lateral peak position at the period at which moving tactile stimuli mimicked the weight distribution in the transition between the swing and stance phases of the gait cycle. This finding may indicate that the body is positioned at the lateral peak position in quiet stance when people perceive the sensation of weight distribution over the feet at the most unstable phase of the gait cycle. We suggest that moving tactile stimuli to the sole may induce medial-lateral body sway before gait initiation for patients with Parkinson's disease to improve their freezing of gait initiation.

Go Across Immersive Technology: A Preliminary Study of the Design and Development of a System for Gait Training Using Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) allows visuotactile interaction in a virtual environment. VR has several potential applications such as surgical training, phobia treatments, and gait rehabilitation. However, further interface development is required. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a noninvasive wearable device control to a VR gait training program. It consists of custom-made insoles with vibratory actuators, and plantar pressure sensor-based wireless interface with a VR game. System usability testing involved a habituation period and three gaming sessions. Significant gait improvement was associated with game scores (P < 0.05). This VR gait training system allowed real-time virtual immersive interaction with anticipatory stimulus and feedback during gait.

Effect of Laterally Moving Tactile Stimuli to Sole on Anticipatory Postural Adjustment of Gait Initiation in Healthy Males

This present study examined the effect of the laterally moving tactile stimuli (LMTS) to the sole on the anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) of the gait initiation. Thirteen healthy males participated in this study. A sound cue was provided at the beginning of each trial. The participants took three steps forward from a quiet stance at their preferred time after the start cue. The LMTS were delivered to the sole after the start cue. The loci of the tactile stimuli moved from the left- to the right-most side of the sole and then moved from the right- to the left-most side of that in a stimuli cycle. The duration of one stimuli cycle was 960 ms, and this cycle was repeated 16 times in a trial. The APA did not onset at the specific direction or phase of the LMTS, indicating that they did not use any specific phase of the stimuli as a trigger for initiating the gait. The LMTS decreased the amplitude and increased the duration of the APA. Simultaneously, the LMTS increased the time between the APA onset and toe-off of the initial support leg, indicating that they moved slowly when initiating gait during the LMTS. Those findings are explained by the view that the suppression of the APA induced via the LMTS to the sole is caused by the slowing down of the gait initiation due to masking the tactile sensation of the sole.