OBJECTIVES: 1) To compare lower-limb joint mechanics during running for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to equivalent data obtained from a group of healthy controls (HCs); and 2) To determine if deficits identified in biomechanical variables during running for people with TBI responded to a six-month period of rehabilitation.
METHODS: Running biomechanics data were recorded from 12 people with TBI who were attending a large metropolitan rehabilitation hospital for mobility limitations, and a comparative sample of 10 HCs at baseline and six-month follow-up. MAIN MEASURES: Average power absorbed and generated at the hip, knee and ankle joints during stance.
RESULTS: Compared to HCs, participants with TBI at baseline ran with greater average power absorption at the hip (-0.27 W/kg vs -0.61 W/kg; p< 0.05), reduced average power absorption at the knee (-2.03 W/kg vs -1.02 W/kg; p< 0.05) and reduced average power generation at the ankle (2.86 W/kg vs 2.06 W/kg; p< 0.05). Only average power generation at the ankle improved following six-months of rehabilitation for the participants with TBI (2.06 W/kg vs 2.79 W/kg; p< 0.05).
CONCLUSION: For the participants with TBI in the present study, recovery of high-level mobility following rehabilitation occurred alongside an improvement in ankle joint mechanics during running.