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REDUCTION OF GAIT ABNORMALITIES IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS DUE TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: A QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION BASED ON STATISTICAL GAIT ANALYSIS

Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino, 10129, Italy

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RICCARDO DE LUCA

Department of Metabolic Diseases and Diabetology, Ospedale Oftalmico ASL TO 1 di Torino, Via Juvarra 19, Torino, 10122, Italy

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LUCIANO CORGIAT MANSIN

Department of Metabolic Diseases and Diabetology, Ospedale Oftalmico ASL TO 1 di Torino, Via Juvarra 19, Torino, 10122, Italy

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, and

MARCO KNAFLITZ

Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino, 10129, Italy

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https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219519412400258Cited by:10 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

The aim of this study is the objective assessment of gait abnormalities in diabetic patients and the quantification of the benefits of physical activity in improving gait quality. Patients were equipped with foot-switches and knee goniometers and were asked to walk at their natural pace for 2.5 min. A statistical gait analysis was performed extracting from hundreds of strides the "atypical" cycles, i.e., the cycles which do not show the usual sequence of gait phases (heel contact, flat foot contact, push off, swing), the duration of the heel contact phase, and the knee kinematics in the sagittal plane. A sample population of 27 non-neuropathic type 2 diabetic patients was examined before and after attending a light-intensity physical activity program that lasted for four months. A fuzzy classifier was used to assign a score to the gait abnormalities of each patient in baseline conditions and after the program completion. More than 50% of the subjects showed a significant reduction in their gait abnormalities and on average, the most frequent improvements were the reduction of atypical cycles and heel contact duration. Furthermore, we found that in basal conditions, the left side is more affected by gait abnormalities than the right (P < 0.003).

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