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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1384313
This article is part of the Research Topic Assessment and Monitoring of Human Movement View all 23 articles

Inertial measurement units-based real-time feedback gait immediately changes gait parameters in older inpatients: a pilot study

Provisionally accepted
Takasuke Miyazaki Takasuke Miyazaki 1*Ryoji Kiyama Ryoji Kiyama 2Yasufumi Takeshita Yasufumi Takeshita 2,3Daichi Shimose Daichi Shimose 4,5Sota Araki Sota Araki 2Hisanori Matsuura Hisanori Matsuura 4Yuki Uto Yuki Uto 4Shobu Nakashima Shobu Nakashima 4Yuki Nakai Yuki Nakai 2,3Masayuki Kawada Masayuki Kawada 2
  • 1 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
  • 2 Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
  • 3 Daiichi Institute of Technology, Kirishima, Kagoshima, Japan
  • 4 Course of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
  • 5 Department of Rehabilitation, Tarumizu Municipal Medical Center, Tarumizu Central Hospital, Tarumizu, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The effect of gait feedback training for older people remains unclear, and such training methods have not been adapted in clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to examine whether inertial measurement units (IMUs)-based real-time feedback gait for older inpatients immediately changes gait parameters. Seven older inpatients (mean age: 76.0 years) performed 3 types of 60-s gait trials with real-time feedback in each of the following: walking spontaneously (no feedback trial); focused on increasing the ankle plantarflexion angle during late stance (ankle trial); focused on increasing the leg extension angle, defined by the location of the ankle joint relative to the hip joint in the sagittal plane, during late stance (leg trial). Tilt angles and accelerations of the pelvis and lower limb segments were measured using 7 IMUs in pre-and post-feedback trials. To examine the immediate effects of IMUs-based real-time feedback gait, multiple comparisons of the change in gait parameters were conducted. Real-time feedback increased gait speed, but was not significantly differ in control (p=0.176), ankle (p=0.237) and leg trials (p=0.398).Step length was significantly increased after the ankle trial (p=0.043, r=0.77: large effect size). Regarding changes in gait kinematics, the leg trial increased leg extension angle compared to the no feedback trial (p=0.048, r=0.77: large effect size). IMUs-based real-time feedback gait changed gait kinematics immediately, and suggests the feasibility of a clinical application for overground gait training in older people.

    Keywords: clinical application, gait training, Wearable sensor, gait analysis, propulsion

    Received: 09 Feb 2024; Accepted: 24 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Miyazaki, Kiyama, Takeshita, Shimose, Araki, Matsuura, Uto, Nakashima, Nakai and Kawada. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Takasuke Miyazaki, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.