Ground reaction forces and control of centre of mass motion during gait : implications for intervention in cerebral palsy
type: CreativeWork
description: A question which has arisen clinically is the inability to generate adequate vertical force during the second half of the stance phase in cerebral palsy gait. Neither the mechanism nor the consequences of this inability are understood. It implies that the centre of mass (CoM) is inadequately supported with the potential for collapse of the limb in single support. Normal walking is achieved by the sophisticated control of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems with the purpose of advancing the body with minimum energy expenditure. These control systems are affected by damage to the brain in children with cerebral palsy and result in a multitude of problems which affect their gait making it difficult to determine cause and effect. This study aimed to improve the understanding of the ground reaction forces and motion of the CoM. Objectives: The principle objectives were to analyse the supporting forces of the CoM during gait in normal adults, children, and children with diplegic cerebral palsy, by examining the inter-relationships of the vertical and horizontal components of the ground reaction force with the vertical component of motion and temporal parameters of the CoM. Design: The study of adults and children’s data was both prospective and retrospective. The study of cerebral palsy data was retrospective. A new software programme was developed to extract specific gait parameters from both normal and cerebral palsy gait patterns. A novel approach to analyse the interaction of motion and force data in normal walking was subsequently developed. Background: In normal gait, the vertical component of the ground reaction force forms a double hump where both humps are equal in magnitude and greater than body weight. It is widely accepted that the first hump (FZ1) is associated with deceleration of the downward motion of the CoM as the foot “impacts” the ground and the second hump (FZ2) is the action of “push off” as the body is propelled upwards and forwards. Walking requ…
abstract: A question which has arisen clinically is the inability to generate adequate vertical force during the second half of the stance phase in cerebral palsy gait. Neither the mechanism nor the consequences of this inability are understood. It implies that the centre of mass (CoM) is inadequately supported with the potential for collapse of the limb in single support. Normal walking is achieved by the sophisticated control of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems with the purpose of advancing the body with minimum energy expenditure. These control systems are affected by damage to the brain in children with cerebral palsy and result in a multitude of problems which affect their gait making it difficult to determine cause and effect. This study aimed to improve the understanding of the ground reaction forces and motion of the CoM. Objectives: The principle objectives were to analyse the supporting forces of the CoM during gait in normal adults, children, and children with diplegic cerebral palsy, by examining the inter-relationships of the vertical and horizontal components of the ground reaction force with the vertical component of motion and temporal parameters of the CoM. Design: The study of adults and children’s data was both prospective and retrospective. The study of cerebral palsy data was retrospective. A new software programme was developed to extract specific gait parameters from both normal and cerebral palsy gait patterns. A novel approach to analyse the interaction of motion and force data in normal walking was subsequently developed. Background: In normal gait, the vertical component of the ground reaction force forms a double hump where both humps are equal in magnitude and greater than body weight. It is widely accepted that the first hump (FZ1) is associated with deceleration of the downward motion of the CoM as the foot “impacts” the ground and the second hump (FZ2) is the action of “push off” as the body is propelled upwards and forwards. Walking requ…
author: Gibbs, Sheila
language: eng
keywords: Gait, Cerebral palsy, Ground reaction force
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:08:05Z
provider: University of Dundee
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Dundee