This study will collect information on the different ways people control limb and body movements. This information will be used to develop a database on normal movements and adaptive movements of people who have diseases that affect the way they move. The database will serve as a tool to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with movement-related problems.
Volunteers over the age of 4 who have normal movement patterns or who have developed different ways to perform movement tasks may be eligible for this study. A physical therapist will screen candidates to determine their strength, flexibility and range of motion of joints.
Participants will be asked to perform movements such as walking, walking up or down stairs, standing quietly or reaching for an object. For the test, the arms and legs are wrapped with a soft, rubber-like material to which small plastic reflective balls are attached. A piece of firm material called a shell may be attached to the rubber sleeves or other areas of the body. Then the volunteer performs the specified task several times while special cameras record the movement. The cameras only record the positions of the reflective balls during movement, not the person's face or body. Electrical activity in the muscles also may be measured, using small metal electrodes attached to the surface of the skin with an adhesive bandage.
Estimated Enrollment: |
500 |
Study Start Date: |
July 1990 |
The purpose of this study is to develop a database of normative and adaptive control strategies for human motion. Up to 500 volunteers will serve as subjects after they complete a neuromusculoskeletal screening exam. Subjects will be asked to perform one or more tasks related to the execution of activities of daily living such as: walking, quiet and perturbed standing, stair ascent and descent, head/neck, upper extremity and hand movements; and finally lip and jaw movements during mastication and speech. The subjects' movement patterns will be monitored using a three-dimensional motion tracking system. Motion data will be analyzed using a rigid body six degree-of-freedom approach when applicable. Temporal/spatial, kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic variables will be collected and calculated. Group means and standard deviations will then be computed. It is hoped the database developed may serve as a tool by which individual patient data may be compared in order to facilitate the diagnosis and optimize the treatment and clinical outcome of patients with movement related problems.