Two-dimensional posture evaluation in Parkinson’s disease: effect of loads on the spinal angle during gait

Parkinson’s Disease patients present diminished coordination caused by neural degeneration. This leads to large motor difficulties during gait such as balance loss and pronounced forward inclination of the upper body. This work assessed the spinal sagittal plane angle alterations in two groups: six parkinsonian patients and six control healthy subjects. This parameter was analyzed during gait under three conditions: without external loads and with external loads applied either on the chest or on the lower back area. Results were statistically compared by means of t-test of paired samples in both groups. For patients, a significant effect was found when loads were applied on the chest. On the other hand, healthy subjects showed no significant differences in either case.Fil: Celoria, Paula. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Nanni, Federico. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Pastore, Flavia. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Pulenta, Sebastian. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Tajerian, Matias. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Pantazis, Lucio José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Moscoso Vásquez, Hilda Marcela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Cerquetti, Daniel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Merello, Marcelo Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Risk, Marcelo. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin