Simulation and experimental analyses of human movement : application to post-stroke hemiparetic gait

dc.contributor.advisorNeptune, Richard R.en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberAbraham, Lawrence D.en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBarr, Ronald E.en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberKautz, Steven A.en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLongoria, Raul G.en
dc.creatorPeterson, Carrie Lynn, 1981-en
dc.date.accessioned2010-12-02T21:58:16Zen
dc.date.available2010-12-02T21:58:16Zen
dc.date.available2010-12-02T21:58:25Zen
dc.date.issued2010-08en
dc.date.submittedAugust 2010en
dc.date.updated2010-12-02T21:58:25Zen
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractStroke is the leading cause of long term disability with improved walking being an important goal following stroke. Understanding deficits that result in reduced walking performance by hemiparetic subjects is important for the design of effective rehabilitation strategies. The goal of this research was to investigate muscle coordination and mechanical work in hemiparetic walking and mechanisms of acceleration and deceleration in nondisabled walking as a framework for investigating non-steady state walking in hemiparetic subjects. Musculoskeletal modeling and simulation analyses were used to compare individual muscle contributions to important walking subtasks and muscle mechanical work by representative hemiparetic subjects (limited community and community walkers) during pre-swing with a representative speed and age-matched control. Simulation analyses identified decreased paretic soleus and gastrocnemius contributions to forward propulsion and power generation as the primary impairment in the limited community walker compared to the control. Comparison of mechanical work showed that total paretic and non-paretic fiber work was increased in the limited community walker, which was primarily related to decreased fiber and tendon work by paretic soleus and gastrocnemius. The decreased output by the ankle plantar flexors required compensatory work by other muscles. Also, the experimental analyses of accelerated and decelerated walking showed that the ankle plantar flexor moment was positively related to braking and propulsive impulses, which increased with speed. Thus, deficits of the paretic plantar flexors limit forward propulsion and increase mechanical work during pre-swing, and would limit the ability of hemiparetic walkers to accelerate and decelerate, which are essential tasks in daily living activities. For the community walker, simulation analyses showed that deficits in paretic swing initiation are a primary impairment. Specifically, the paretic gastrocnemius and hip flexors contributed less to swing initiation in the community walker compared to the control subject. Total paretic and non-paretic fiber work was increased in the community walker, primarily due to increased work by the hip abductors and adductors. Because step length and step frequency were positively related to walking speed in accelerated and decelerated walking, impaired paretic swing initiation would likely limit the community walker’s ability to accelerate and decelerate.en
dc.description.departmentMechanical Engineeringen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2010-08-1623en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.subjectBiomechanicsen
dc.subjectWalkingen
dc.subjectMuscle worken
dc.subjectAccelerationen
dc.titleSimulation and experimental analyses of human movement : application to post-stroke hemiparetic gaiten
dc.type.genrethesisen
thesis.degree.departmentMechanical Engineeringen
thesis.degree.disciplineMechanical Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Texas at Austinen
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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