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Objective: To investigate the effects of foot sole insensitivity on the outcomes of the triceps surae muscle H-reflex and functional gait. Material and Methods: People with peripheral neuropathy were recruited and divided into two groups: people with more (n = 13, 73.3 ± 4.3 years old) or less (n = 10, 73.5 ± 5.3) sensitive tactile sensation. Their monofilament testing scores were 9.0 ± 1.5 (range: 7--10) and 2.3 ± 2.4 (range: 0--6) out of 10, respectively. H-reflex of the triceps surae muscles during quiet standing and their relationship with functional gait, 6 min walking distance (6MWD), and timed-up-and-go duration (TUG), were compared between groups. Results: No significant difference was detected for H-reflex parameters between the groups. The less sensitive group showed reduced (p < .05) functional gait capacity compared to the other group, 38.4 ± 52.7 vs. 463.5 ± 47.6 m for 6MWD, and 9.0 ± 1.5 vs. 7.2 ± 1.1s for TUG, respectively. A significant correlation (p < .05), worse functional gait related to greater H/M ratio, was observed in the less sensitive group, not the other group. Conclusion: Although there was no significant H-reflex difference between the groups, more pronounced tactile sensation degeneration affected functional gaits and their relationship with H-reflex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of Hoffman-reflex (H-reflex) and foot sole sensitivity on low extremity kinematics in people with peripheral neuropathy (PN). METHODS: People who are more (MST group, N=13) and less (LST group, N=10) sensitive to touch with physician-diagnosed PN were recruited for the experiment. Key outcome variables were H-reflex of the right soleus (SO), medial (MG) and lateral (LG) gastrocnemius muscles during standing, 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), duration of the timed up-and-go test (TUG), range of motion of the right hip, knee and ankle joints in the sagittal plane during walking on the treadmill, and three pairs (hip-knee, hip-ankle, and knee-ankle) of continuous relative phase variabilities (CPRv) used to evaluate lower extremity joint coordination. Statistically, the difference between LST and MST was examined using an independent sample T-test with p-value and effect size (Cohen's d). RESULTS: NO significant differences in H-reflex, both H/M ratio and H-index detected between the two groups. The LST group walk shorter distances in the 6MWD test (380.4±52.7 vs. 463.5±47.6m, p=.001, d=1.64) and slower in the TUG test (9.0±1.5 vs. 7.2±1.1s, p=.003, d=1.38). The range of motion of the right hip, knee, and ankle of LST group were significantly less than that of the MST group (27.1±6.6 vs. 34.6±4.3 deg., p=.006, d=1.35; 43.7±13.8 vs. 58.0±5.7 deg., p=.003, d=1.34; and 17.0±5.2 vs. 23.5±6.3 deg., p=.015, d=1.12). The LST group showed a greater amount of CRPv than the MST group (31.0±10.4 vs. 21.4±6.6, p=.013, d=1.11) with no differences observed in the other two sets of CRPv values. A significant positive linear correlation was observed for the LST group between the range ankle range of motion and the H-index of LG (r=.681, p=.044). CONCLUSION: The deficits of foot sole sensitivity led to the decrease of range of motion and functional gait, and increased hip-ankle coordination variability during walking. The tactile sensation plays a role in regulating the range of motion of the lower extremity. Interestingly, with the increase of the nerve conduction velocity, the range of motion of the lower extremity increases accordingly. Thus, the lower threshold of tactile sensation in conjunction with faster proprioceptive feedback contributes to an increased range of motion and faster walking speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]