Evaluation of both muscle energy expenditure and muscle forces for support and progression in individuals with crouch gait.

RAVERA, EMILIANO; CRESPO, MARCOS; CATALFAMO FORMENTO, PAOLA

Milano

Congreso; XVII SIAMOC Congress; 2016

Human locomotion involves smooth advancement of the body through spacewith the least mechanical and physiological energy expenditure. While the goalof walking in unimpaired subjects is progression in the forward direction, itis well known that children with cerebral palsy (CP) may walk in a crouchposture with an excessive knee and hip flexion, as a consequence of multiple secondaryfactors, which results in an inefficient gait. Previous studies haveexamined how muscles provide support and progression in crouch gait.However, the direct relationship between both muscle forces and muscle energy rateduring crouch gait is not yet well understood. The purpose of this study is toevaluate the mechanics of the muscle behavior during crouch gait to use it asinformation in treatment strategies.  The results indicated that while patients withcrouch gait showed an increase in most of the muscle forces and muscle energyrate, the relationship between energy expenditure and forces presented adeficit in many muscle groups showing the inefficiency of this pathologicalposture. This results show that examining the contribution of individual musclesduring walking may provide a foundation for future studies and basis forclinicians and researchers to understand the inefficient mechanics of crouchgait.