Citation

Stephen DG, Wilcox BJ, Niemi JB, Franz J, Casey Kerrigan D, D'Andrea SE. Gait Posture 2012; 36(3): 537-540.

Affiliation

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2012.05.014

PMID

22739049

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether providing subsensory stochastic-resonance mechanical vibration to the foot soles of elderly walkers could decrease gait variability. In a randomized double-blind controlled trial, 29 subjects engaged in treadmill walking while wearing sandals customized with three actuators capable of producing stochastic-resonance mechanical vibration embedded in each sole. For each subject, we determined a subsensory level of vibration stimulation. After a 5-min acclimation period of walking with the footwear, subjects were asked to walk on the treadmill for six trials, each 30s long. Trials were pair-wise random: in three trials, actuators provided subsensory vibration; in the other trials, they did not. Subjects wore reflective markers to track body motion. Stochastic-resonance mechanical stimulation exhibited baseline-dependent effects on spatial stride-to-stride variability in gait, slightly increasing variability in subjects with least baseline variability and providing greater reductions in variability for subjects with greater baseline variability (p<.001). Thus, applying stochastic-resonance mechanical vibrations on the plantar surface of the foot reduces gait variability for subjects with more variable gait. Stochastic-resonance mechanical vibrations may provide an effective intervention for preventing falls in healthy elderly walkers.

Language: en