Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gradually lose the ability to stabilize their trunk against gravity. This hinders them to effectively perform different daily activities. In this paper, the authors describe the design, realization and evaluation of a trunk orthosis for these patients that should allow DMD patients to move their trunk and maintain stability. The study aimed to primarily assess the effectiveness of the trunk support system in terms of unloading of trunk muscles, so only healthy participants were recruited for this phase of the study. The results highlight that wearing the orthosis caused reductions in longissimus and iliocostalis activity. The average muscle activity level was 5%-10% of maximum voluntary contraction in the unsupported conditions for those particular muscles. This level was reduced to 3%-9% of maximal voluntary contraction for the supported conditions. No effect on external oblique and rectus abdominis activity was observed. Moreover, no pain or discomfort was reported by any of the participants during the experiment. The results from the current experiment also suggests the necessity of lumber stabilizing systems while using trunk orthosis. The authors conclude that the developed orthosis reduces trunk muscle activation level and provides a solid step for further development of support systems for DMD patients.
The current study was approved by the medical ethics committee Arnhem-Nijmegen (study number: NL53143.091.15 ), The Netherlands.
Mahmood MN, Peeters LHC, Paalman M, et al. Development and evaluation of a passive trunk support system for Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2018 Mar 14;15(1):22.
