Clinical trial NCT05092932: Walking Aid Assessment, Arm Strength and Force Under the Foot in Normal Subjects
Official title: Normative Research of Walking Aid Selection in Normal Subjects
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Healthy
Physical Examination
Middle Age
Aged
Young Adult
Adolescent
Gait
Keywords: healthy
gait
plantar force
balance
muscle function
Lead sponsor: University of Saskatchewan
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-10-26
Enrollment: 40
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: 200 healthy adults who independently walk with or without an assistive device.

Brief summary: This study will collect biomedical performance data on walking characteristics in normal, healthy people when walking with walking aids and when walking unaided. Data will be used for independent reporting and for comparison to matched people with pathological conditions. Data collected will including walking ability, balance, force under the feet when walking and muscle strength.

Detailed description: Young adults often tolerate the increased energy expenditure, coordination, and stance limb discomfort associated with walking aids for non-weightbearing ambulation. It is not clear how walking aid selection affects stance limb plantar force, walking speed, perceived exertion, and device preference in adults over 50 years of age..

This project is a prospective randomized crossover study using healthy adults, aged over 50 years, with no use of walking aids within 5 years. Participants will walk 200 m under 4 randomized conditions: single non-weightbearing ambulation using crutches, a walker, a wheeled knee walker, and unaided walking. An in-shoe sensor will measure stance limb plantar force, a stopwatch will be used to time each walk, a hand held dynamometer will measure arm muscle strength, perceived exertion will be reported using the BORG CR-10 scale, and device preference will be identified.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Able bodied individuals self reported good health

Exclusion Criteria:

* recent fractures history of neurologic disease or events.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Force under the stance limb foot
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of one day. This is a one time assessment comparing differences in the normal force under the foot when the participant walks under 4 walking conditions.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Arm strength in newtons
timeFrame: Through study completion an average of one day. This is a one time assessment to correlate strength with force under the stance limb foot with upper extremity strength under the 4 walking conditions.
measure: Perceived Exertion
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of one day. This is a one time assessment to compare perceived exertion when the participant walks under 4 walking conditions.
measure: Walking aid preference
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of one day.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Saskatoon
country: Canada
facility: University of Saskatchewan
state: Saskatchewan
Study officials:
affiliation: The University of Saskatchewan
name: Audrey R Zucker-Levin, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: