< Back to previous page

Project

Research in the field of the neurological and musculoskeletal movement analysis.

"Life is animation. To live is to move. For humans, movement is essential for our survival" Efficient movement is complex and requires an ultimate integration of balance control and movement coordination. An interesting approach to gain insight into these processes of motor control is the neuromechanical concept. This concepts stresses the interaction between the neural processes and the biomechanical laws of motion that together shape the movement patterns. The movement outcome hereby depends on the interaction between the individual and its properties, the task demands and the environmental constraints. Applications of neuromechanics include ameliorating human health problems by exploring how processes such as e.g. development, ageing, loss of sensory information or neurological pathologies affect the movement outcome. One of the most important movements in daily life is gait. During the life span, both developmental processes, such as growth and neuro-maturation, as well as ageing affect the gait pattern. The general consensus is that a lot of adaptations in gait, both in children and elderly, are related to balance control. Characterizing balance during locomotion is recently a hot topic. A range of different measures to quantify stability during locomotion are developed but the validity and reliability of each of these measures is not yet fully understood. The goal is to investigate different parameters for assessing gait stability in children, adults and elderly thereby describing changes in dynamic balance control across the entire lifespan. From the neuromechanical concept it is evident that sensory information is essential in goal directed movement and loss of sensory information might have tremendous effects on the control of locomotion. Knowledge on the processes of development and ageing on balance, together with the results from explorative research regarding good collective output variables describing stability during locomotion, will be transferred to research performed in patients with uni- or bilateral vestibular deficits (both children and adults). Good parameters should be able to detect balance deficits or deterioration of balance and provide insights into possible compensation strategies. Furthermore, therapeutic interventions such as balance training programs can be developed and evaluated based on this knowledge. Also typical problems in neurological populations, such as muscle weakness and problems with selective muscle control, give rise to a deteriorating gait that in its most progressive form is described as a crouch gait. In cerebral palsy a large body of knowledge and expertise has been built over the years on how to treat these gait problems and improve the patient's mobility. The possibilities of knowledge transfer from the treatment of CP patients to other neurological populations with gait deficits, e.g. children with Dravet syndrome, needs to be further explored.
Date:1 Feb 2016 →  30 Sep 2021
Keywords:MUSCULOSKELETAL MOVEMENT ANALYSIS
Disciplines:Biomechanics, Laboratory medicine, Palliative care and end-of-life care, Regenerative medicine, Other basic sciences, Other clinical sciences, Other health sciences, Nursing, Other paramedical sciences, Other translational sciences, Other medical and health sciences