"If we can understand how people walk, we can apply this knowledge to help people who have difficulties walking because of conditions such as cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, and spinal injuries," says John Barden, U of R Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and head of the Neuromechanical Centre.
Barden and colleagues from the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region (RQHR) are using gait analysis for two new initiatives: a research project that will use gait analysis to find out more about post-operative recovery from knee replacement surgery; and a pilot program that will provide gait analysis services for Children's Program clients from Wascana Rehabilitation Centre.
Gait analysis at the U of R Centre uses 3D camera-based motion-capture technology to digitize and quantify movement. For example, this technology can be used to accurately measure gait speed, joint forces and movement. The Centre also uses a force plate to measure the force of stepping on the ground.
The research project, called "Gait Analysis Before and After Total Knee Replacement (TKR) Surgery," will study
patients who undergo knee replacements due to osteoarthritis. The study will compare patients before and after total knee
replacement surgery at various stages of recovery, for up to one year or more. They will be compared to a control group of
people of similar ages with no joint problems.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints worldwide and the knee is the most frequently
affected joint of the lower limb. Symptomatic OA of the knee affects 10 per cent of adults over age 55, and a quarter of
those are severely disabled. Knee pain is more common than back pain in older adults and, with the changing demographics in
developed countries, is an epidemic that is destined to grow.
One of the goals of the U of R research is to determine why people with knee replacements often develop a stiff knee pattern of walking after surgery. "It's very common with knee joint replacements, but it's not known why," says Barden.
Some studies have shown that patients with OA experience more ‘loading' or weight-bearing on the inside of the knee joint. Barden's study will try to determine if that loading is in fact higher before surgery and diminishes after the knee is replaced. Barden will work with two surgeons from the health region on the study, as well as with Dr. Peilai Liu, who is an orthopedic surgeon from China and a visiting scholar at the U of R.
In the pilot program involving Children's Program clients from Wascana Rehabilitation Centre, Children's Program physiotherapist Kyra Kane will work with the U of R Neuromechanical Centre to provide computerized gait analysis as an additional assessment option for children in southern Saskatchewan. Under the agreement with RQHR, it is anticipated that one or two children will undergo gait analysis assessments every month. The children may have conditions such as spina bifida, acquired brain injury, or cerebral palsy, says Barden.
"The worldwide application of gait analysis to children's health has been focused primarily on cerebral palsy," Barden notes. "This additional assessment using computerized gait analysis could be used to prescribe or evaluate treatment and help the physiotherapist, surgeon or physician better understand the problem. From there, they can make more informed decisions such as which orthotic, for example, will help the child walk better. This will give them an objective measurement, because prescribing the right orthosis is very individualized."
Kane, who is also working on her Master's degree with a focus on biomechanics and motor control, is one of 36 graduate students enrolled in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies at the U of R. Kane will present some of the results of the pilot program at the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society's international conference in Denver, Colorado, in March.