Many neurological disorders lead to an energetically costly gait pattern. Cerebral Palsy (CP), caused by damage in the immature brain, is the most common severe movement disorder in children. Current strategies to improve pathological gait in CP are often unsuccessful, likely because we still have a limited understanding why patients adopt certain gait compensations. Through this project we aim to clarify the extent pathological gait coordination in CP depends on mechanics related to optimization of locomotor support. Also, we will to what extent the ability to learn a new gait pat-tern following robotic gait training depends on locomotor support capacity and the level of neuronal deficits. The project will fill critical gaps in the current understanding concerning constraints on normal gait.

2022

2027