Superior Gait Performance and Postural Stability among Yoga Instructors – Inertial Measurement Unit-Based Evaluation

作者：Ang-Chieh Lin, Tzu-Tung Lin, Yin-Keat Tan, Wei-Ren Pan, Chih‐Jen Shih, Chun-Ju Lee, Szu‐Fu Chen, Fu‐Cheng Wang · 发表于：Research Square · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.21203/rs.3.rs-2153584/v1 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention、Diabetic Foot Ulcer Assessment and Management、Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders

Abstract Background Yoga movements involve a series of motions of the core and lower limb muscles that require constant body adjustments to maintain balance and proper body alignment. Inertial measurement unit, a wearable device that is consisted of 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes and 3-axis magnetometers, can provide objective data for motion analysis. This study aimed to investigate gait symmetry and single-leg stance balance of professional yoga instructors versus age-matched normal controls using inertial measurement unit (IMU) - based evaluation. Methods Twenty-five yoga instructors and twenty-five healthy control subjects were recruited to conduct the walking experiments and single-leg stance tests. Kinematic data were measured by attaching IMUs to the lower limbs and trunk. The asymmetry of swing phases during gait cycles was assessed using the normal walk and tandem walk tests with eyes open and closed, respectively. The subjects subsequently conducted four single-leg stance tests, including a single-leg stance on both legs with eyes open and closed. Two balance indexes regarding the angular velocities of the waist and chest were defined to assess postural stability. Results The gait asymmetry indexes of yoga instructors were significantly lower than those of the normal controls on normal walk and open-eye tandem walk tests. The asymmetry indexes also showed a smaller value in the yoga instructors on close-eye tandem gait; however, it did not reach statistic...