Gait and kinematics of the trunk and lower extremities in stair ascent using quadricane in healthy subjects

Different cane placement methods require different gait patterns and ranges of motion either at the trunk or lower extremities. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of cane placement on body biomechanics in stair ascent (SA) in 16 healthy adults (9 women, 7 men) aged 27.2 ± 3.2 years old. The height and weight of the women and men were 160.8 ± 5.4 cm and 54.1 ± 8.1 kg, and 170.8 ± 3.9 cm and 69.6 ± 5.6 kg, respectively. Three-dimensional motion data were collected in non-reciprocally SA associated with following methods: (1) dominant foot stepped up first, then the opposite foot without a cane (NC); (2) forward placement of a quadricane followed by the ipsilateral foot, then contralateral foot (FCI); (3) forward cane placement followed by the contralateral foot, then ipsilateral foot (FCC); (4) ipsilateral foot stepping up first, followed by the contralateral foot and the cane (LCI); (5) contralateral foot stepping up, followed by the ipsilateral foot and cane (LCC). LCI and LCC were considered as lateral cane placement. Temporal gait parameters, kinematics of the trunk and lower extremities were calculated. The results indicate that the cane placement had significant effect on the kinematics of the trunk and lower extremities. The main differences between forward and lateral cane placement were flexion and side flexion of the trunk, and flexion of the leading and opposite hip and knee. Hip rotation and abduction, and ankle plantar and dorsiflexion were different between contralateral and ipsilateral cane placements.