Citation

Chiou-Tan FY, Magee KN, Krouskop TA. J. Rehabil. Res. Dev. 1999; 36(2): 94-99.

Affiliation

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77004, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10661525

Abstract

It is hypothesized that the cane and forearm can be aligned to reduce muscular activity needed during ambulation. In this prospective study, 10 nonimpaired control subjects were tested both in stationary and dynamic weight-bearing states while using different cane prototypes and the platform cane (PC) as compared to the standard cane (SC). The outcome measures were: 1) root mean square (RMS) voltage (µV) of electromyographic (EMG) signal as a measure of muscle power and 2) distance of ambulation. Results of stationary cane use showed that Prototype 1 decreased RMS output by 19 percent (p=0.01), Prototype 2 with wrist splint decreased it by 23 percent (p=0.003), and the PC decreased it by 68 percent (p<0.0001) as compared to the SC (ANOVA, posthoc LSM). In conclusion, the two prototypes and the PC significantly decrease RMS voltage muscle output in the upper limb, compared to the SC.

Language: en