Measuring changes in gait kinematics due to walking-related fatigue in patients with Multiple Sclerosis

摘要

The objective quantification of walking-related fatigue in patients with Multiple Sclerosis is still an open challenge. This study aims at measuring changes in gait kinematics due to fatigue in MS patients performing a 6-minute walking test (6MWT) and comparing the results with a control group. Nine MS patients and twenty-six healthy subjects were enrolled in the experimental protocol, consisting in the execution of a 6MWT along a 15-m pathway at self-selected speed. Data of lower limb segments were gathered by seven inertial sensors placed on pelvis, thighs, shanks and feet. The evolution of the range of motion (ROM) related to hip, knee and ankle joint was evaluated by partitioning the data related to the 6MWT into six time subgroups of 60 s. Then, maximum difference for each ROM was computed as the difference between the maximum and minimum related to each stride within all six subgroups and then averaged across strides; in addition, the ROM decrements between the first minute and the remaining five were also calculated. Statistical tests were performed to evaluate differences between MS cohort and control group. Results revealed significant effects of walking-related fatigue on gait kinematics of MS patients, as suggested by the continuous slowing down of the ROM during the execution of the experimental task for all joints. The here proposed synthetic indices can be considered as useful tools for the objective assessment of fatigue in MS patients in order to design specific treatments to reduce fatigability phenomenon.