2002 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Effect of heel elevation in Parkinsonan gait
| Project/Area Number |
12832013
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
ETO Fumio The University of Tokyo, Hospital, Professor, 医学部附属病院, 教授 (00101121)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
HIROSE Ken The University of Tokyo, Hospital, Assistant, 医学部附属病院, 助手 (30218838)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2000 – 2002
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| Keywords | Parkinson's disease / abnormal gait / rehabilitation / gait analysis / orthosis / heel elevation / plantar pressure |
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| Research Abstract |
The effects of heel elevation of shoes on an abnormal gait of Parkinson's disease patients were investigated by using the Gait Scan and the F Scan. These measurements provided several gait parameters including walking speed, step length, step width, cadence, and distribution of plantar pressure. Twenty-five total patients with Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr stage : III-IV) and 16 total age-matched health people participated in this study. Heel elevation was evaluated with blocks placed beneath the heel that simulated shoes at four different heel heights ; 0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 cm. The pathway of the center of pressure, COP pathway, increased at the conditions with heel elevation compared with that without heel elevation. In the age-matched control group, the COP pathway also increased at the conditions with heel elevation. Compared with the age-matched control subjects without any gait disturbances, the patients with Parkinson's disease showed shorter COP pathway at any types of heel elevation. Another effects of heel elevation on Parkinsonian gait included hastening cadence, and shortening transitional time between the two pressure peaks. Parkinson's disease patients appeared to be able to walk with a gait pattern similar to the normal subjects by heel elevation. The influence of heel elevation was obviously in the measurements of walking, and it contributed to the improvement of gait in the Parkinson's disease patients through additional heel elevation of 1.0-2.0cm. These findings suggest the necessity of a further clinical trial with a large-scale sample to establish clinical utility of shoe modification in the patients with Parkinson's disease.
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