title: Pathological trunk motion during walking in children with amyoplasia: is it caused by muscular weakness or joint contractures?
abstract: The aim was to investigate the causes for pathological trunk movements during gait in children with Amyoplasia. Eighteen children with Amyoplasia were compared with 18 typically developed children. Three-dimensional motions of pelvis, thorax and spine during gait were analyzed. Excessive trunk movements were defined as being above 4 standard deviations of those of typically developed children. Clinical examination of active strength and passive range of motion of the hip, knee and ankle joints were correlated to the parameter that showed the greatest prevalence of pathological trunk motion. The greatest prevalence of 56% was seen for thorax obliquity range during walking. The spine angles showed the lowest deviations from typically developed children. Significant correlations (p<0.001) between thorax obliquity range and clinical parameters were found for passive hip extension, hip flexion, hip abduction and active hip extension, hip flexion and ankle dorsiflexion strength. The highest correlation coefficients were found for passive hip flexion and active hip flexion strength of rho=-0.73 and rho=-0.69 respectively. Excessive thorax obliquity during gait in children with Amyoplasia could be mainly caused by reduced strength and mobility of the hip. Therefore both mobility and strength of the hip are equally important and should be increased in the therapy to improve gait in children with Amyoplasia.
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Hospital for Children, Behandlungszentrum Aschau GmbH, Bernauerstr. 18, 83229 Aschau i. Chiemgau, Germany. Electronic address: h.boehm@bz-aschau.de.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.forename: Chakravarthy U
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Dussa
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Multerer
authors.forename: Leonhard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Döderlein
mesh_terms: D001176:Arthrogryposis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006616:Hip Contracture / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D060726:Torso; D016138:Walking
keywords: ADE; ADN; AMC; Amyoplasia; Amyoplasia with excessive Duchenne gait; Amyoplasia with natural Duchenne gait; Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita; Duchenne gait; Range of motion; Strength; TD; TOR; Thorax obliquity range; Trunk pathologies; Typically developed children