Lower limb joint discharge in older adults’ gait using a contralateral Canadian cane: A pilot study

Background and objective: The Canadian cane (CC) is clinically relevant for older adults (OA) with degenerative pathologies; however, few studies have evaluated its effect on the vertical joint reaction force (VJRF) in the lower limbs during gait. This study aimed to describe VJRF with and without contralateral CC use during gait in OA. Materials and methods: A descriptive study was conducted with five healthy OA (age: 69 ± 9.92 years, weight: 75.36 ± 19.79 kg, height: 1.61 ± 0.11 m). A 3D motion analysis system and two force platforms were used to collect VJRF data from the hip, knee, and ankle joints during the stance phase of gait, both with and without CC. VJRF was calculated using an inverse dynamics method in the lower limb contralateral to the CC use. The percentage of force reduction in the impact (IR) and propulsion (PR) regions during the stance phase was calculated based on three evaluations, with mean and standard deviation values reported for each joint. Results: The PR showed the highest percentage of joint discharge across all joints compared to the IR, with values of 14.43 ± 8.28% for the hip, 14.46 ± 8.20% for the knee, and 14.22 ± 7.87% for the ankle. Conclusions: OA who use a CC could generate greater joint discharge at the end of the stance phase, with a particular reduction in the PR. This could suggest that using the CC potentially decreases VJRF on the contralateral lower limb joints, particularly the hip and knee.