Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.M.E.

Degree Name

MS in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)

Degree Granting Department

Mechanical Engineering

Major Professor

Kyle Reed, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Stephanie Carey, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Seok Hun Kim, Ph.D.

Keywords

rate of adaptation, rhythm entrainment, rhythmic auditory cueing, split-belt treadmill, stroke rehabilitation

Abstract

More than 50% of stroke survivors over 65 years of age experience long-term mobilityloss [50]. Hemiparesis is a form of disability that arises from this, causing paralysis on one side of the body. The long-term effects of hemiparesis include loss of locomotion, muscle spasticity, and excessive use of muscles on the non-paretic side. This leads to a gait pattern that is kinematically and kinetically asymmetric.

Several rehabilitation techniques currently exist that aim to minimize this asymmetric gait, including split-belt treadmill training, rhythmic cueing (auditory or tactile), adding mass to one foot. Each form of treatment comes with its unique strengths and limitations. In this study, two different forms of treatments have been combined sequentially: split-belt treadmill and asymmetric rhythmic cueing. The experiment was set up to investigate the level of gait asymmetry that may be attained by healthy individuals without gait or neurologic impairments. The treatments that are sequentially combined are expected to generate a gait asymmetry as a result of interaction between the two types of interventions. Resulting gait patterns were then studied in the spatiotemporal and kinetic domains to determine the effect of the combinations.

Overall, it was found that step length asymmetry was retained for a longer period of time when trained with the split-belt treadmill compared to asymmetric rhythmic auditory cueing. Temporal parameters (swing time asymmetry and stance time asymmetry) were found to have been retained and a result of interaction between the two treatment methods. A linear model was devised using the after-effects of split-belt treadmill and asymmetric rhythmic auditory cueing to compare the efficacy of a simultaneous intervention with a sequential combination intervention. It was found from the after-effects that a higher proportion of the treatment prior to post-adaptation was retained, and that utility of the linear model is dependent heavily on the gait parameters (and their response to each treatment method) used for its conception.

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