Head Stabilization during Walking in People with Unilateral Vestibular Disorder | ||
| مهندسی مکانیک مدرس | ||
| Article 4, Volume 25, Issue 5, 1404, Pages 279-284 PDF (739.51 K) | ||
| DOI: 10.48311/mme.2025.24031 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Farzaneh Habibi1; Mohammed N. Ashtiani* 1; Saeideh Mehrkian2 | ||
| 1Tarbiat Modares University | ||
| 2University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background Head stabilization plays a crucial role in locomotive tasks such as walking, but it can be impaired in individuals with unilateral vestibular disorder (UVD). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of UVD, environmental lighting, and gait speed on head stabilization during walking. The hypothesis was that people with UVD (PwUVD) restrict their head movements while walking, and faster walking speeds and darker environments would worsen head stabilization. Methods Eight PwUVD and nine healthy individuals were asked to walk along a 6-meter walkway at their preferred pace, as well as at 25% slower and 25% faster paces, either in normal or in dark environments. Motion analysis was utilized to measure head movement and calculate variability, range, and approximate entropy of the head kinematic data. Results Healthy individuals exhibited higher variability of head acceleration compared to patients in the forward (p=.020), lateral (p=.042), and vertical (p=.001) directions. The lighting conditions had a significant impact on the variability of the vertical component of head acceleration (p=.009). Gait speed also significantly influenced the variability of head acceleration in all directions (p<.001). Furthermore, the range of head acceleration was greater in healthy individuals than in patients, particularly in the forward (p=.006) and vertical (p<.001) directions. PwUVD exhibited significantly higher approximate entropy of head displacement and velocity (p<.033). Conclusion. Conclusion The findings suggest that head stabilization serves as a compensatory mechanism in PwUVD, particularly at higher gait speeds. However, walking in a dark environment limited the effectiveness of this strategy. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Unilateral Vestibular Disorder; Head Stabilization; Gait; Vision; kinematics | ||
| References | ||
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