Efeitos da supressão do balanço do membro superior na marcha de adultos saudáveis

Abstract

In common situations of daily living and in orthopedic and neurological pathologies, the balance of an upper limb can be suppressed and this suppression can promote changes in gait pattern in order to allow the individual to continue to move with stability. The aim of the present study is to analyze the effects of active suppression of the arm swing on the gait of healthy individuals and to provide information about the interference of such restraint in motor behavior of the non-dominant upper limb, trunk, pelvis, hips and knees. A cross- sectional, observational quantitative study was performed in which nine individuals had their gait analyzed under two conditions: (i) self-selected velocity with free arm swing and (ii) self- selected velocity with dominant arm contained. The data was collected using Codamotion® three-dimensional motion analysis system. The movement was tracked through 36 markers distributed across all body segments. A system based on principal component analysis was developed to correct errors in the tracing of the markers. The main results observed were lower peak hip extension to containment (p = 0.04) and greater ipsilateral knee range of motion to containment (p = 0.07). Although many variables did not present a statistically significant difference, they had a clearly perceptible effect on the individuals’ movement pattern, demonstrating that suppression in the dominant arm swing during gait promotes changes in the motor behavior of healthy individuals.