Effects of a robotic walking exercise on walking performance in community-dwelling elderly adults

Background: Reduced gait speed and stride length are characteristic of gait in elderly people and increase their dependency on assistance. We developed a robotic stride assistance system (SAS) to automatically control the walk ratio during walking. Our aim was to quantify the effects of a walking exercise with the SAS on walking performance and glucose metabolism during walking in community-dwelling elderly adults.Methods: For 3 months, 15 women (72–85 years old) performed the walking exercise twice weekly for 90 min/session. We assessed walking for 5 m at a comfortable speed before and after the intervention. Positron emission tomography with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) was used to assess muscle activity during an unassisted 50-min walk.Results: Walking speed was improved by the intervention and FDG uptake by the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius and rectus femoris, and pelvic muscles (iliacus and gluteus muscles) were reduced.Conclusion: These results suggest that a walking intervention program using an applied robotic system is useful for improving the walking ability and the efficiency of muscle activities during walking in the elderly