Spatiotemporal gait changes with use of an arm swing cueing device in people with Parkinson’s disease

• Published in: Gait & posture 2017-10, Vol.58, p.46-51
• Main Authors: Thompson, Elizabeth, Agada, Peter, Wright, W.Geoffrey, Reimann, Hendrik, Jeka, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arm - physiopathology; Arm swing; Cross-Over Studies; Cues; Female; Gait - physiology; Gait Disorders, Neurologic - physiopathology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease - physiopathology; Parkinson’s disease; Pilot Projects; Rotation; Somatosensory cueing; Step length; Walking; Walking - physiology
• ISSN: 0966-6362; 1879-2219
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2017.07.001

•Subjects successfully responded to vibratory cues for larger arm swing.•Visual cues and arm swing cues both led to larger step length, slower cadence.•Visual (not arm swing) cues led to increased lateral trunk translation.•Effects of larger arm swing on gait are highest at comfortable walking pace.•Effects of arm swing cues, but not of visual cues, on gait are preserved after 5min. Impaired arm swing is a common motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD), and correlates with other gait impairments and increased risk of falls. Studies suggest that arm swing is not merely a passive consequence of trunk rotation during walking, but an active component of gait. Thus, techniques to enhance arm swing may improve gait characteristics. There is currently no portable device to measure arm swing and deliver immediate cues for larger movement. Here we test report pilot testing of such a device, ArmSense (patented), using a crossover repeated-measures design. Twelve people with PD walked in a video-recorded gym space at self-selected comfortable and fast speeds. After baseline, cues were given either visually using taped targets on the floor to increase step length or through vibrations at the wrist using ArmSense to increase arm swing amplitude. Uncued walking then followed, to assess retention. Subjects successfully reached cueing targets on >95% of steps. At a comfortable pace, step length increased during both visual cueing and ArmSense cueing. However, we observed increased medial-lateral trunk sway with visual cueing, possibly suggesting decreased gait stability. In contrast, no statistically significant changes in trunk sway were observed with ArmSense cues compared to baseline walking. At a fast pace, changes in gait parameters were less systematic. Even though ArmSense cues only specified changes in arm swing amplitude, we observed changes in multiple gait parameters, reflecting the active role arm swing plays in gait and suggesting a new therapeutic path to improve mobility in people with PD.