Gait impairments in persons with multiple sclerosis across preferred and fixed walking speeds.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate (1) whether previously observed changes in gait parameters in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are the result of slower preferred walking speeds or reflect adaptations independent of gait speed; and (2) the changes in spatiotemporal features of the unstable swing phase of gait in people with MS. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study assessing changes in gait parameters during preferred, slow (0.6m/s), medium (1.0m/s), and fast (1.4m/s) walking speeds. SETTING: Gait laboratory with instrumented walkway and motion capture system. PARTICIPANTS: MS group with mild to moderate impairment (n=19, 16 women) with a median Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 3.75 (range, 2.5-6), and a sex- and age-matched control group (n=19). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Gait speed, stride length, stride width, cadence, dual support time, swing time, and timing of swing foot and body/head center of mass during swing phase. RESULTS: Individuals with MS walked at slower preferred speeds with longer dual support times compared with controls. In fixed-speed conditions, dual support times were longer and swing times were shorter in MS compared with controls. Stride width was wider for all speed conditions in the MS group. In fixed-speed conditions, the MS group positioned their head and body centers of mass closer to the anterior base of support boundary when entering the unstable equilibrium of the swing phase. CONCLUSIONS: Longer dual support time is part of a gait strategy in MS that is apparent even when controlling for the confounding effect of slower preferred speed. However, a gait strategy featuring longer dual support times may have limitations if potentially destabilizing swing dynamics exist, which especially occur at walking speeds other than preferred for people with MS.

Locomotor-respiratory coupling patterns and oxygen consumption during walking above and below preferred stride frequency.

Locomotor respiratory coupling patterns in humans have been assessed on the basis of the interaction between different physiological and motor subsystems; these interactions have implications for movement economy. A complex and dynamical systems framework may provide more insight than entrainment into the variability and adaptability of these rhythms and their coupling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between steady state locomotor-respiratory coordination dynamics and oxygen consumption [Formula: see text] of the movement by varying walking stride frequency from preferred. Twelve male participants walked on a treadmill at a self-selected speed. Stride frequency was varied from -20 to +20% of preferred stride frequency (PSF) while respiratory airflow, gas exchange variables, and stride kinematics were recorded. Discrete relative phase and return map techniques were used to evaluate the strength, stability, and variability of both frequency and phase couplings. Analysis of [Formula: see text] during steady-state walking showed a U-shaped response (P = 0.002) with a minimum at PSF and PSF - 10%. Locomotor-respiratory frequency coupling strength was not greater (P = 0.375) at PSF than any other stride frequency condition. The dominant coupling across all conditions was 2:1 with greater occurrences at the lower stride frequencies. Variability in coupling was the greatest during PSF, indicating an exploration of coupling strategies to search for the coupling frequency strategy with the least oxygen consumption. Contrary to the belief that increased strength of frequency coupling would decrease oxygen consumption; these results conclude that it is the increased variability of frequency coupling that results in lower oxygen consumption.

Time-To-Contact Analysis of Gait Stability in the Swing Phase of Walking in People With Multiple Sclerosis.

This study investigated timing and coordination during the swing phase of swing leg, body center of mass (CoM) and head during walking people with multiple sclerosis (MS; n = 19) and controls (n = 19). The MS group showed differences in swing phase timing at all speeds. At imposed but not preferred speeds, the MS group had less time to prepare for entry into the unstable equilibrium, as the CoM entered this phase of swing earlier. Time-to-contact coupling, quantifying the coordination between the CoM and the swing foot, was not different between groups. The projection of head motion on the ground occurred earlier after toe-off and was positioned closer to the body in the MS group, illustrating increased reliance on visual exproprioception in which vision of the body in relation to the surface of support is established. Finally, prospective control, linking head movements to the swing foot time-to-contact and next step landing area, was impaired in the MS group at higher gait speeds.

Leg power asymmetry and postural control in women with multiple sclerosis.

UNLABELLED: The extent of and the interactions between muscle strength, walking speed, postural control, and symptomatic fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) are not known, nor are the effects of bilateral strength asymmetries on these variables. PURPOSE: To quantify the magnitude of and the associations between bilateral strength and limb-loading asymmetries, postural control, and symptomatic fatigue in women with MS. METHODS: Peak knee extensor (KE) and dorsiflexor (DF) isometric torque and isotonic power were assessed bilaterally in 12 women with MS (Expanded Disability Status Scale = 4 +/- 1) and 12 age-matched female controls using a Biodex dynamometer (Biodex Medical, Shirley, NY). Center of pressure (CoP) variability during 20 s of quiet stance was measured in the anteroposterior (AP) and the mediolateral (ML) directions using adjacent force plates. Bilateral asymmetry scores were calculated for power and torque. Normal and brisk walk times (25 ft) and symptomatic fatigue (Visual Analog Fatigue Scale and Fatigue Severity Scale) were measured before strength and balance testing. RESULTS: Fatigue was greater and walk times (normal and brisk) were longer in MS (P < or = 0.01). Dorsiflexor (DF) isometric torque and power and knee extensor (KE) isometric strength were similar between groups. KE power was lower (mean +/- SD = 21.5 +/- 16.2%; P < or = 0.05) and KE power asymmetry was greater in MS than in controls (9.2 +/- 6.9%; P = 0.02). Postural variability of the CoP was greater in the AP direction in MS than in controls (7.52 +/- 3.02 and 4.33 +/- 1.79 mm, respectively; P = 0.005). KE power asymmetry was associated with fatigue and walk times (P < or = 0.02), and AP CoP variability was correlated with fatigue, walk times, and power asymmetries (P < or = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data provide new evidence of a potential role for KE strength asymmetries in the symptomatic fatigue and physical dysfunction of persons with MS, possibly through an effect on postural stability.

Gait initiation in multiple sclerosis.

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) often have poor balance control that is especially apparent during dynamic tasks such as gait initiation (GI). The purpose of this study was to investigate how balance symptoms due to MS alter spatiotemporal variables, coordination, and temporal margins within the stability boundary during gait initiation. Twelve women with MS (Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] mean = 4.0, SD = 1.4) and 12 women without MS (control group) initiated gait at their preferred speed. MS participants attained a slower anterior velocity because of smaller anterior center of mass displacements and took longer to complete the initiation of gait than the control group. MS participants exhibited a smaller posterior shift in center of pressure during GI and stepped with a longer dual support time than the control group. However, these changes may be due to differences in initiation velocity. Relative timing analysis showed invariance in postural and locomotor phases of gait initiation between groups. The MS group showed different coordination between anterior-posterior and medio-lateral center of pressure components while increasing temporal margins to the posterior and lateral stability boundaries in comparison with the control group. Overall, during gait initiation at their preferred speed the MS participants adopted a functional strategy that produces lower speed and reduced proximity to the stability boundaries prior to stepping.