Quantifying Joint Movement Variability in Healthy and Hemiplegic Gait using OpenSim

This study delves into the scaling capabilities of OpenSim, a biomechanical modeling tool, to scrutinize musculoskeletal alterations accompanying the hemiplegic condition compared to a healthy model. Contralateral hemiplegia (CH), characterized by unilateral paralysis, induces profound changes in bone size and significantly influences an individual’s gait. Motivated by understanding the biomechanical repercussions of CH on human movement, we conducted a comprehensive investigation involving ten patients with CH, with a median age of 46 years (range: 39 to 52.0 years and height: 1.75 0.6 m). Ten healthy controls with similar body attributes were±also recruited. We assessed musculoskeletal changes post-CH using bone length data from MRI reports obtained from a hospital. Inverse kinematics in OpenSim are facilitated for a detailed comparison of joint angles between unhealthy and healthy individuals. The gait data is visualized and analyzed using statistical metrics such as mean absolute deviation, box plots, and a two-sample t-test. The results revealed significant differences in hip and ankle joint angles between healthy and hemiplegic individuals, underscored by low p-values. Interestingly, no significant difference was observed in knee joint angles (p-value = 0.9126). These findings contribute to a valuable understanding of hemiplegia-related musculoskeletal changes, offering potential avenues for tailored interventions to improve mobility and quality of life.