Evaluation of spinal posture during gait with inertial measurement units

Abstract

The increasing number of postural disorders emphasizes the central role of the vertebral spine during gait. Indeed, clinicians need an accurate and non-invasive method to evaluate the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program on spinal kinematics. Accordingly, the aim of this work was the use of inertial sensors for the assessment of angles among vertebral segments during gait. The spine was partitioned into five segments and correspondingly five inertial measurement units were positioned. Articulations between two adjacent spine segments were modeled with spherical joints, and the tilt–twist method was adopted to evaluate flexion–extension, lateral bending and axial rotation. In total, 18 young healthy subjects (9 males and 9 females) walked barefoot in three different conditions. The spinal posture during gait was efficiently evaluated considering the patterns of planar angles of each spine segment. Some statistically significant differences highlighted the influence of gender, speed and imposed cadence. The proposed methodology proved the usability of inertial sensors for the assessment of spinal posture and it is expected to efficiently point out trunk compensatory pattern during gait in a clinical context.