Two-dimensional posture evaluation in Parkinson?s disease: effect of loads on the spinal angle during gait

PAULA CELORIA; FEDERICO NANNI; FLAVIA PASTORE; SEBASTIAN PULENTA; MATIAS TAJERIAN; LUCIO PANTAZIS; MARCELA MOSCOSO VASQUEZ; DANIEL CERQUETTI; MARCELO MERELLO; MARCELO RISK

JOURNAL OF PHYSICS CONFERENCE SERIES

IOP Publishing

Año: 2016 vol. 705 p. 1 - 7

Parkinson's Disease patients present diminished coordination caused by neural degeneration. This leads to large motor diculties during gait such as balance loss and pronounced forward inclination of the upper body. This work assessed the spinal sagittal plane angle alterations in two groups: six parkinsonian patients and six control healthy subjects. This parameter was analyzed during gait under three conditions: without external loads and with external loads applied either on the chest or on the lower back area. Results were statistically compared by means of t-test of paired samples in both groups. For patients, a signicant eect was found when loads were applied on the chest. On the other hand, healthy subjects showed no signficant differences in either case.