title: A comparison of gait in spinal muscular atrophy, type II and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
abstract: This study investigated and compared the gait of two patients with spinal muscular atrophy, type II (SMA II) and two patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). These diseases cause a progressive and proximal to distal muscular weakness resulting in the loss of ambulation. The DMD cases had comparable muscle weakness with the SMA II cases on manual muscle testing and patients were assessed using kinematics, kinetics, electromyography and video analysis. SMA II and DMD patients employed different gait strategies for forward movement. SMA II patients used pelvic rotation initiated by the upper body to propel the leg forward and produce the necessary step-length whereas the DMD patients tended to use hip flexion and plantar flexion. Management of SMA II patients would include preservation of hip abductor and flexor strength to maintain mobility.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Automatique, de Mécanique et d'Informatique industrielles et Humaines, Université de Valenciennes et du Hainaut-Cambrésis, Le Mont Houy, 59313 Valenciennes Cedex 9, France. armand@institut-st-pierre.com
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Armand
authors.forename: Moïse
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Watelain
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Patte
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pelissier
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rivier
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000503:physiopathology; D009134:Muscular Atrophy, Spinal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000503:physiopathology*