title: Fixed and self-paced treadmill walking for able-bodied and transtibial amputees in a multi-terrain virtual environment.
abstract: A self-paced treadmill automatically adjusts speed in real-time to match the user's walking speed, potentially enabling more natural gait than fixed-speed treadmills. This research examined walking speed changes for able-bodied and transtibial amputee populations on a self-paced treadmill in a multi-terrain virtual environment and examined gait differences between fixed and self-paced treadmill speed conditions. Twelve able-bodied (AB) individuals and 12 individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation (TT) walked in a park-like virtual environment with level, slopes, and simulated uneven terrain scenarios. Temporal-spatial and range-of-motion parameters were analyzed. Within the self-paced condition, all participants significantly varied walking speed (p<0.001) across different walking activities. Compared to level walking, participants reduced speed for uphill and hilly activities (p<0.001). TT also reduced speed downhill (p<0.001). Generally, differences in temporal-spatial and range-of-motion parameters between fixed and self-paced speed conditions were no longer significantly different with a speed covariate. However, for uphill walking, both groups decreased stride length during self-paced trials, and increased stride length during fixed-speed trials to maintain the constant speed (p<0.01). The results from this study demonstrated self-paced treadmill mode is important for virtual reality systems with multiple movement scenarios in order to elicit more natural gait across various terrain. Fixed-speed treadmills may induce gait compensations to maintain the fixed speed.
authors: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, 725 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada; University of Ottawa, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada. Electronic address: esinitski@toh.on.ca.
authors: Emily H
authors: EH
authors: Sinitski
authors: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, 725 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada; University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors: Edward D
authors: ED
authors: Lemaire
authors: University of Ottawa, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
authors: Natalie
authors: N
authors: Baddour
authors: Canadian Forces Health Services, 1745 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K6, Canada.
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Besemann
authors: University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors: Nancy L
authors: NL
authors: Dudek
authors: Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Alberta Health Services, 10230 111 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T5G 0B7, Canada; University of Alberta, 116 Street and 85 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
authors: Jacqueline S
authors: JS
authors: Hebert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000674:Amputees / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Gait; Self-paced; Treadmill; Uneven; Virtual reality