Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25226302›Full record

ArticlePloS one2014

The combined effects of body weight support and gait speed on gait related muscle activity: a comparison between walking in the Lokomat exoskeleton and regular treadmill walking.

Klaske Van Kammen, Annemarijke Boonstra, Heleen Reinders-Messelink, Rob den Otter

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In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Klaske Van KammenCenter for Human Movement Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Annemarijke BoonstraRehabilitation Center 'Revalidatie Friesland', Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands.
Heleen Reinders-MesselinkRehabilitation Center 'Revalidatie Friesland', Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands.
Rob den OtterCenter for Human Movement Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFor the development of specialized training protocols for robot assisted gait training, it is important to understand how the use of exoskeletons alters locomotor task demands, and how the nature and magnitude of these changes depend on training parameters. Therefore, the present study assessed the combined effects of gait speed and body weight support (BWS) on muscle activity, and compared these between treadmill walking and walking in the Lokomat exoskeleton.

methodsTen healthy participants walked on a treadmill and in the Lokomat, with varying levels of BWS (0% and 50% of the participants' body weight) and gait speed (0.8, 1.8, and 2.8 km/h), while temporal step characteristics and muscle activity from Erector Spinae, Gluteus Medius, Vastus Lateralis, Biceps Femoris, Gastrocnemius Medialis, and Tibialis Anterior muscles were recorded.

resultsThe temporal structure of the stepping pattern was altered when participants walked in the Lokomat or when BWS was provided (i.e. the relative duration of the double support phase was reduced, and the single support phase prolonged), but these differences normalized as gait speed increased. Alternations in muscle activity were characterized by complex interactions between walking conditions and training parameters: Differences between treadmill walking and walking in the exoskeleton were most prominent at low gait speeds, and speed effects were attenuated when BWS was provided.

conclusionWalking in the Lokomat exoskeleton without movement guidance alters the temporal step regulation and the neuromuscular control of walking, although the nature and magnitude of these effects depend on complex interactions with gait speed and BWS. If normative neuromuscular control of gait is targeted during training, it is recommended that very low speeds and high levels of BWS should be avoided when possible.

Indexed as

Exercise Movement TechniquesExercise TherapyGaitWalkingAdolescentBody WeightElectromyographyExercise TestFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansMaleMuscle, SkeletalYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID25226302
PMCPMC4167325

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.