A randomized cross-over study protocol to evaluate long-term gait training with a pediatric robotic exoskeleton outside the clinical setting in children with movement disorders.

ABSTRACT: Individuals with neuromuscular disorders display a combination of motor control deficits and lower limb weakness contributing to knee extension deficiency characterized by exaggerated stance phase knee flexion. There is a lack of evidence for long-term improvement of knee extension deficiency with currently available clinical treatment programs. Our previous work testing a wearable robotic exoskeleton with precisely timed assistive torque applied at the knee showed immediate increases in knee extension during walking for children with cerebral palsy, which continued to improve over an acute practice period. When we applied interleaved assistance and resistance to knee extension, we observed improvements in knee extension and increased muscle activation indicating the potential for muscle s

SUBMITTER: Devine TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11230531 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature