Abstract
Split-belt treadmill walking allows researchers to understand how new gait patterns are acquired. Initially, the belts move at two different speeds, inducing asymmetric step lengths. As people adapt their gait on a split-belt treadmill, left and right step lengths become more symmetric over time. Upon returning to normal walking, step lengths become asymmetric in the opposite direction, indicating deadaptation. Then, upon re-exposure to the split belts, step length asymmetry is less than the asymmetry at the start of the initial exposure, indicating readaptation. Changes in step length symmetry are driven by changes in step timing and step position asymmetry. It is critical to understand what factors can promote step timing and position adaptation and therefore influence step length asymmetry. There is limited research regarding the role of visual feedback to improve gait adaptation. Using visual feedback to promote the adaptation of step timing or position may be useful of understanding temporal or spatial gait impairments. We measured gait adaptation, deadaptation, and readaptation in twenty-nine healthy young adults while they walked on a split-belt treadmill. One group received no feedback while adapting; one group received asymmetric real-time feedback about step timing while adapting; and the last group received asymmetric real-time feedback about step position while adapting. We measured step length difference (non-normalized asymmetry), step timing asymmetry, and step position asymmetry during adaptation, deadaptation, and readaptation on a split-belt treadmill. Regardless of feedback, participants adapted step length difference, indicating that walking with temporal or spatial visual feedback does not interfere with gait adaptation. Compared to the group that received no feedback, the group that received temporal feedback exhibited smaller early deadaptation step position asymmetry (p = 0.005). There was no effect of temporal or spatial feedback on step timing. The feedback groups adapted step timing and position similarly to walking without feedback. Future work should investigate whether asymmetric visual feedback also results in typical gait adaptation in populations with altered step timing or position control.
Highlights
The ability to adjust a walking pattern to meet task demands–gait adaptation–is crucial to mobility [1]
Step length asymmetry gradually decreases over the course of ten minutes, despite the belts still moving at different speeds
Follow-up Bonferroni t-tests revealed that the Temporal Feedback group had smaller aftereffects in step position asymmetry–i.e., a smaller magnitude in early deadaptation–than the No Feedback group (p = 0.005, d = 1.49, Fig 3C)
Summary
The ability to adjust a walking pattern to meet task demands–gait adaptation–is crucial to mobility [1]. Provided more than ten minutes to adapt, step lengths become asymmetric such that the fast leg takes a longer step than the slow leg [4] likely in response to the work done by treadmill on the legs [6,7,8]. Healthy individuals adjust their walking patterns on an SBT by adapting temporal (step timing) and spatial (step position) parameters when gait is perturbed [9, 10]. Step timing refers to the time taken between the previous and the current foot strikes, and step position refers to the distance between the pelvis and the lead ankle at foot strike
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