Investigation of gait initiation in early multiple sclerosis patients

Objective: It is known that gait, which is the biggest component of participation, is affected from the early stage in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients and should be evaluated comprehensively to ensure the continuation of ambulation in the later stages. For this, in addition to the kinetic and kinematic analyzes in the phase where the gait reaches stability, the initiation phase of the gait should not be ignored. Examination of gait initiation should be included in multidimensional gait assessment because it can predict gait in many ways and can be effective in distinguishing clinically asymptomatic patients. In addition to examining the center of pressure changes and muscle activations in the anticipatory phase, in the evaluation of gait initiation ability, the time-distance characteristics of the first three steps required for the transition to stable locomotion should also be evaluated. The aim of this study is to reveal the difference between early stage MS patients without functional loss and minimal functional loss compared to healthy ones and to form an opinion on the prognosis of patients gait . Method: After their admission to the hospital from MS patients and healthy volunteers included in the study, sampling will be made with stratified random sampling and 11 volunteers will be evaluated by accepting 10% loss in each group. Mini Mental Test, IPAQ, 10 Meter Walking Test and EDSS for MS patients will be applied to the volunteers who were evaluated. EMG recording will be taken for anticipatory postural adjustments to start walking in suitable volunteers,GAITRite record will be taken for the spatiotemporal parameters and the BERTEC balance evaluation system will be used to measure the changes in the center of pressure and the data will be recorded. Conclusion: The results of this study will be shared in the literature regarding the parameters of initiating gait in early stage MS patients with health and the differences between them. Discussion: The results obtained as a result of the study will be discussed with similar studies in the literature.Discussion: The results obtained as a result of the study will be discussed with similar studies in the literature.Discussion: The results obtained as a result of the study will be discussed with similar studies in the literature.