Gait Analysis as a Monitoring Test in Spinal Cord Injury Treatment: A Pilot Study

Spinal cord injury is one of the major causes of movement disorders. Selection of an effective treatment method for this kind of disorder is challenging. The goal of this case study was to investigate two-dimensional (2D) gait analysis as a tool evaluating the effectiveness of a prescribed intervention to treat this type of injury. A male with damaged spinal cord was treated over a period of 2-year by physiotherapy and corrective exercises. The subject was examined in both pre and post stages of his treatment. During examination, he was asked to walk at a self-selected speed on a treadmill. Two dimensional gait analyses were carried out to derive the spatial-temporal curves of the lower limb joints and trunk lean angles in the frontal plane. The results indicated that, although the treatment was not completely successful, the injury signs decreased. The effect of the treatment on movement patterns were visible in the gait analysis method. This method of evaluation made the rates of spinal cord injury recovery become quantitatively measurable.