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Influence of Post-Stroke Gait on Bone
Density
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Principal Investigators: Gary S. Beaupré, PhD and Steven A.
Kautz, PhD
Project Staff: Robert T. Whalen, PhD; B. Jenny Kiratli, PhD; Lise
Worthen, MS; C. Maria Kim, MSc, PT; Jill S. Higginson, PhD; Lampros Kourtis,
MS; and Henry L. Lew, MD, RT
Project Categories: Osteoporosis and Stroke - 2004
The underlying hypothesis for this study is that the changes in habitual
skeletal loading following stroke are in large part responsible for the
observed changes in bone density. This hypothesis provides the motivation for a
number of key questions, the answers to which are important for improving our
understanding of stroke-related osteoporosis and for providing a theoretical
basis for potential rehabilitation interventions and goals. In the proposed
study we will use experimental and computational approaches to answer the
following key questions:
What are the experimentally determined relationships between measured
gait parameters (such as self-selected walking speed and peak ground reaction
force magnitude during the stance phase of gait) and bone mineral density at
the calcaneus and hip on the affected and non-affected sides?
What are the experimentally determined relationships between the ground
reaction force time histories recorded over three consecutive days and bone
mineral density at the calcaneus and hip on the affected and non-affected
sides?
Do the side-to-side asymmetries in bone density correlate with the
measured asymmetries in the ground reaction forces between the affected and
non-affected sides?
What are the relationships between the hip joint reaction forces
calculated from gait analysis data and measured bone mineral density for both
the affected and non-affected sides?
How well can computer models predict changes in bone density in stroke
patients as a function of time post-stroke based on estimates of skeletal
loading obtained from gait analysis?
Milestones:
Funding Source: VA RR&D Merit Review
Funding Status: Active
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