Steven Truijen

University of Antwerp | UA · Department of Rehabilitation Science and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

ABSTRACT Background: The importance of corticospinal tract (CST) integrity in upper limb recovery poststroke is well established, but its association with standing balance and walking remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to establish the relationship between CST and non-CST motor tract integrity, and clinical scores of standing balance and wal...

(1) Background: Traditional gait assessment methods have limitations like time-consuming procedures, the requirement of skilled personnel, soft tissue artifacts, and high costs. Various 3D time scanning techniques are emerging to overcome these issues. This study compares a 3D temporal scanning system (Move4D) with an inertial motion capture system...

Background and objective Accurate verticality perception is essential for daily life activities, such as correctly estimating object orientation in space. This study established normative data for the subjective visual vertical (SVV) and subjective haptic vertical (SHV) using the portable and self-constructable modified Bucket test and Rotating-Col...

(1) Background: Marker-based 3D motion capture systems (MBS) are considered the gold standard in gait analysis. However, they have limitations for which markerless camera-based 3D motion capture systems (MCBS) could provide a solution. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to compare the accuracy, validity, and reliability of MCBS...

Introduction Center-of-pressure (COP) synchronization and symmetry can inform adaptations in balance control following one-sided sensorimotor impairments (e.g., stroke). As established force plates are impossible to transport, we aimed to criterion validate a portable pressure plate for obtaining reliable COP synchronization and symmetry measures,...

Visuospatial neglect is a disorder characterised by impaired awareness for visual stimuli located in regions of space and frames of reference. It is often associated with stroke. Patients can struggle with all aspects of daily living and community participation. Assessment methods are limited and show several shortcomings, considering they are main...

Background Visuospatial neglect (VSN) has been suggested to limit standing balance improvement post-stroke. However, studies investigating this association longitudinally by means of repeated within-subject measurements early post-stroke are lacking. This prospective longitudinal cohort study evaluates the longitudinal association of egocentric and...

This reference dataset contains biomechanical data of 138 able-bodied adults (21–86 years) and 50 stroke survivors walking bare-footed at their preferred speed. It is unique due to its size, and population, including adults across the life-span and over 70 years, as well as stroke survivors. Full-body kinematics (PiG-model), kinetics and muscle act...

Background and objective: Considering various factors that influence the accuracy of the Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) and Subjective Postural Vertical (SPV), standardization of assessment methods is needed. This retrospective study examined the contribution of Head-on-Body (HOB) position, starting roll position (SRP) and visuospatial neglect (...

Background: Recovery of quiet standing balance early poststroke has been poorly investigated using repeated measurements. Objective: To investigate (1) the time course of steady-state balance in terms of postural stability and inter-limb symmetry, and (2) longitudinal associations with lower limb motor recovery in the first 3 months poststroke....

Despite its potential clinical impact, the association of personal neglect (PN) with motor, activities of daily living (ADL), and participation outcomes after stroke is not well-understood. This first-ever systematic review on the topic therefore evaluates this association, taking into account suggested subtypes of PN, including body representation...

Introduction: Spatiotemporal gait parameters, e.g., gait stride length, are measurements that are classically derived from instrumented gait analysis. Today, different solutions are available for gait assessment outside the laboratory, specifically for spatiotemporal gait parameters. Such solutions are wearable devices that comprise an inertial me...

This book reports on advances in human modeling techniques, covering cutting-edge algorithms and their practical implementation in health and medicine, automotive, clothing, virtual reality simulations, robotics, and assistive technologies. Gathering the proceedings of the 8th International Digital Human Modeling Symposium, held on September 4-6, 2...

This pilot study investigates the effect of music-based rhythmic auditory stimulation on stroke patients.Six stroke participants wore a wearable mocap system (Xsens, MVN Awinda, Movella, NL) performing the ten-meter walking test (10WMT) while listening through headphones to familiar, rock, and no music. From the findings of this study, rock music h...

A precise understanding of stent deformation in the upper respiratory tract is important in analyzing critical and dangerous effects of stent displacement on suffocation. Coughing and sneezing cause significant muscular respiratory reflexes in the body. Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) from the mouth during coughing and sneezing was determined using spir...

This paper addresses the need to define and discuss the relationship between the digital human model, the human digital twin and the digital twin. Nowadays, in scientific literature, the new terms human digital twin or digital twin are mentioned in different fields of applications, omitting the concept digital human model. However, a model is not t...

The analysis of human movement using 4D data is explored in this paper. Using the CAESAR database, reference distributions of body segment volumes and 3D mesh vertices connected to anatomical landmarks were created. A child (10 years old, male) with lower limb asymmetry of idiopathic origin was investigated, comparing the asymmetries seen in “A-pos...

Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to identify the physical functioning factors associated with home discharge after inpatient stroke rehabilitation. Data sources: A search of PubMed, Embase, CINHAL, The Cochrane Library (Trials), Web of Science, and PEDro were conducted up until May 2023. Methods: Two independent revi...

(1) Background: Even though music therapy is acknowledged to have positive benefits in neurology, there is still a lack of knowledge in the literature about the applicability of music treatments in clinical practice with a neurological population using wearable devices. (2) Methods: a systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines...

Work-related injuries involving significant physical loads are of growing concern, as these injuries can negatively impact work productivity, physical health and well-being at work, but also have economic costs due to absenteeism. This observational study aims to quantify the ergonomical assessment of dockworkers using wearable devices to reduce th...

Background Although visuospatial neglect (VSN) has been suggested to limit recovery of standing balance post-stroke, recovery studies investigating this association by means of repeated within-subjects measurements early post-stroke are lacking. Therefore, this cohort study evaluated prospectively if VSN severity is longitudinally associated with (...

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and preliminary effects of a 12-week home-based moderate intensity cycling programme in stroke survivors. Design: Single-blinded, parallel group, Randomised Controlled Trial Setting: Home-based Participants: Participants will be survivors of first-ever stroke and randomly assigned to an Active Cycling Group...

Dissociation between lower limb motor recovery and control of standing balance early poststroke – First results from a repeated-measurements cohort study Schröder J.1, Saeys W. 1, Embrechts E. 1, Hallemans A. 1, Yperzeele L. 2, Truijen S. 1, Kwakkel G. 3 1 University of Antwerp, Research group MOVANT, dep. Rehabilitation Sciences & Physiotherapy (...

Objective The aim of this study is to determine the personal and clinical factors that can predict recovery of motor function in people with stroke. Methods Characteristics of the study participants such as age, sex, time since stroke and type of stroke, motor function, shoulder pain, amount and quality of use of the affected limb in the real worl...

Purpose Low back pain (LBP) may have a specific or non-specific cause such as abnormal posture or repetitive tasks. For instance, lifting and transferring patients during caregiving for stroke survivors may predispose the caregivers to LBP. Objectives The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of chronic non-specific LBP and factors asso...

For capturing only static models, 3D body scanning is well known in various application areas such as medicine, automotive, sports, clothing, product design and gaming. These models have some limitations in that they are unable to capture dynamic poses that can provide more information about real-time tasks and interactions with a real-life object,...

Background: Although most research on spatial neglect (SN) has focused on spatial perception deficits with regard to the lateral (left-right) axis, deficits of spatial perception with regard to the vertical (up-down) axis, such as disturbances in the perception of verticality (e.g., judgement of vertical orientations), have also been suggested. O...

Objective The aim of this study is to determine the factors that affect patients’ ability to carry out high dose of massed practice. Methods Patients with stroke were included in the study if they had no severe impairment in motor and cognitive functions. Dose of massed practice, motor function, perceived amount and quality of use of the arm in th...

Jonas Schröder¹, Ann Hallemans¹, Laetitia Yperzeele², Gert Kwakkel³, Wim Saeys¹, Steven Truijen¹ ¹University of Antwerp, ²University Hospital Antwerp, ³Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam BACKGROUND AND AIM: Posturography typically involves a single composite measure of the center-of-pressure (COP) under both feet. Such measures establi...

Previous studies already showed an association between visuospatial neglect (VSN) and worse functional balance and mobility after stroke. However, longitudinal studies that evaluate the behavior of this association over time are lacking, and it is generally unknown if functional motor milestones are re-acquired later in those with VSN compared to t...

Introduction Although most stroke survivors show some spontaneous neurological recovery from motor impairments of the most-affected leg, the contribution of this leg to standing balance control remains often poor. Consequently, it is unclear how spontaneous processes of neurological recovery contributes to early improvements in standing balance. O...

Objective: In the last decade, there is a growing interest in the use of virtual reality for rehabilitation in clinical and home settings. The aim of this systematic review is to do a summary of the current evidence on the effect of home-based virtual reality training and telerehabilitation on postural balance in individuals with central neurologi...

Background: Patients with chronic health conditions risk aggravation of their health status due to reduced access to health services during the COVID-19 related lockdown. Objectives: To investigate the impact of Belgian COVID-19 measures on general health status (i.e. worse or stable/better) of patients, adult and pediatric, with chronic health...

Background: Lateropulsion with active Pushing (LwP) is characterized by impairments in postural control. Previous research suggests an association between LwP, lesion location and verticality misperception. This first-ever systematic review evaluates the association between LwP, lesion location and the perception of verticality (PROSPERO: CRD42020...

Background: Successful orofacial treatment can reduce tinnitus severity in patients with somatic tinnitus (ST). However, it is still unclear to what extent the degree of reduction in temporomandibular disorders (TMD) actually contributes to the decrease in tinnitus severity after orofacial treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze...

Some subtypes of hemispatial neglect (HSN), such as visuo-spatial neglect, are negatively related with postural control. An impaired verticality perception is often hypothesized to be involved in these deficits. However, the association of HSN with verticality perception is not well-investigated. This study investigates the association between post...

The motor and functional consequences of personal neglect (PN) have not yet been systematically addressed, and whether the sole presence of PN or rather the co-occurrence of PN with another type of hemispatial neglect are related to similar consequences has not yet been investigated. Therefore, this systematic review evaluates the association betwe...

Lateropulsion with active Pushing (LwP) is characterized by impairments in postural control. Previous research suggest an association between Lateropulsion with active Pushing (LwP) and a misperception of verticality. This systematic review systematically evaluates the association between LwP and the perception of verticality.

Background Despite strong evidence that walking speed and forward propulsion decline with increasing age, their relationship is still poorly understood. While changes in the ankle and hip mechanics have been described, few studies have reported the effect of ageing on the whole leg’s contribution to propulsion. Research question The aim of this st...

Background Pregnancy results in many changes, including reduced hand grip strength (HGS). However, good HGS is required for physical functions such as carrying and breastfeeding the baby after birth. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that may predict HGS during pregnancy. Methods The study was a cross-sectional study approved by t...

Purpose To identify which of the socio-environmental factors of patients with stroke are predictive for discharge to their home after inpatient rehabilitation. Because discharge planning is a key component of rehabilitation, it is important to recognize the predictive factors for a discharge home. Other systematic reviews demonstrated the value of...

Background: High repetitions of task practice is required for the recovery of the motor function during constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT). This can be achieved into ways: when the task practice is measured in hours of practice or when the number of repetitions is counted. However, it has been argued that using hours of task practice as a...

Background: Constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) is effective at improving upper limb outcomes after stroke. Aim: The aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of lower limb CIMT studies of any design in people with stroke. Materials/ Method: PubMED, PEDro, OTSeeker, CENTRAL, and Web of Science we...

Background. Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is used for the rehabilitation of motor function after stroke. Objectives. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of lower limb CIMT that uses number of repetition of tasks with the one that uses number of hours of practice. Method. The study was a randomized clinical trial approved b...

Background: There is emerging evidence that Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) may be associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. The aim of this review was to investigate the strength of the evidence. Method: The review was registered in PROSPERO (CDR42020184822). Three electronic databases, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Web of Science, and t...

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is used for the rehabilitation of motor function after stroke. The aim of this review was to investigate its effect on persons-reported outcomes of health status (PROsHS) compared with conventional therapy. The study was a systematic review and meta-analysis registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019142279). Five da...

Background Although previous narrative reviews have highlighted a potential association between visuospatial neglect (VSN) and balance disorders, to what extent different areas of balance and mobility could be affected is still unclear. Objectives This systematic review updates previous literature findings and systematically reviews sitting balanc...

Background: Trunk training after stroke is an effective method for improving trunk control, standing balance and mobility. The SWEAT² study attempts to discover the underlying mechanisms leading to the observed mobility carry-over effects after trunk training. Aim: A secondary analysis investigating the effect of trunk training on muscle activat...

Various studies suggest a negative association between spatial neglect and motor function post-stroke. However, the underlying mechanisms of this association as well as the longitudinal interaction throughout the recovery process is still unknown. Therefore, this study will investigate the association between spatial neglect and lower-limb motor...

Although previous narrative reviews have already highlighted a potential association between visuospatial neglect and balance disorders, it is still unclear to what extent different areas of balance and mobility could be affected. Therefore, this first-ever systematic review updates previous literature and systematically investigates sitting balanc...

Question The outcome of recovery post-stroke is largely defined within the first 5-8 weeks suggesting that this is the optimal time to initiate rehabilitation. While robust findings on time-dependent therapy effects exist in animal models, clinical evidence is sparse due to a lack of early rehabilitation trials. We will discuss (1) the protocol and...

Introduction Subjective tinnitus that is influenced by the somatosensory system is called somatosensory tinnitus (ST). When ST is related to the temporomandibular area, multidisciplinary orofacial treatment can reduce tinnitus severity. It is, however, unknown if we can predict this positive outcome. The aim of this study is to look for prognostic...

Currently, no standardised screening tools nor established interventions are available to address the characteristics of back pain (BP) specifically in horse riders. Therefore, the aim of this case-control study is to explore sport-specific and functional characteristics of BP in horse riders. 16 professional and 16 amateur riders (25±7 years) part...

Objective: Trunk training after stroke is an effective method for improving mobility, yet underlying associations leading to the observed mobility carryover effects are unknown. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of trunk training for gait and trunk kinematics and to find explanatory variables for the mobility carryov...

Recovery of motor function after stroke involves many biomarkers. This review attempts to identify the biomarker effects responsible for recovery of motor function following the use of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and discuss their implications for research and practice. From the studies reviewed, the biomarker effects identified incl...

Guidance to maintain an optimal aerodynamic position is currently unavailable during cycling. This study used real-time vibrotactile feedback to guide cyclists to a reference position with minimal projected frontal area as an indicator of aerodynamic drag, by optimizing torso, shoulder, head and elbow position without compromising comfort when sitt...

Prolonged inadequate sitting posture together with overuse and repetitive strain cause musculoskeletal disorders and pain in pianists. Nowadays wearable sensors based on miniaturized Inertial Measurement Units combined with video recording can provide real time information of the performer in a non-intrusive way and ecological approach without affe...

Age-related changes in the way of walking may induce changes in dynamic stability. Therefore, the relationship between age, spatio-temporal characteristics and margins of stability was examined. One hundred and five healthy adults aged between 20 and 89 years old were analysed on spatio-temporal characteristics and margins of stability using three-...

Background Trunk function and lower limb strength seem to be the primary predictors for functional independence in acute stroke patients. Gaining a better understanding of their relationship during walking aids in the identification of intrinsic trunk control deficits and underlying lower limb deficits resulting in compensatory trunk movements. Me...

Background: Crouch gait is a common gait impairment in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Growing up and gaining weight, lever arm dysfunctions further deteriorate and walking efficiency progressively worsens over time with risk of losing ambulant capacity in adolescent life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether walking in an innovative...

Background: Crouch gait is a common gait impairment in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Growing up and gaining weight, lever arm dysfunctions further deteriorate and walking efficiency progressively worsens over time with risk of losing ambulant capacity in adolescent life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether walking in an innovative...

Background: For patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain CLBP, exercise therapy is stated to be the most effective intervention strategy but it is unclear which kind of exercise therapy is most beneficial. Objective: To identify preliminary prognostic indicators that predict outcome for exercise therapy in patients with nonspecific CLBP....

The uprising of versatile wearable technology allows for the development of assistive aids with increased functionality. With this improved functionality, often complexity of use also increases. In particular, wearable multi-channel emg sensors combined with versatile programmable output and emg pattern classifiers, allows to steer prostheses with...

This study is the first to examine prosthesis design and appearance in healthy children towards prosthesis for children using a questionnaire. 119 typically developing children between the age of seven and twelve years were included. Their reactions were evoked by priming them to several types of assistive devices. Most of the participants clearly...

The uprising of multi-channel wearable EMG sensors combined with machine learning pattern recognition algorithms offers the possibility to control multiple degree of freedom hand prosthetics. Such human-machine interaction systems require training from the user, mostly to link gestures with underlying EMG patterns. As intended end users have a miss...

Many musicians such as guitarists have to practice in very unnatural positions for several hours while making repetitive movements. Specific for guitar players, problems can occur in the long term, at the wrists, shoulders, neck, and low back. Based on user feedback, questionnaires and observations, two types of ergonomic adaptations have been prop...

Immersive virtual reality (VR) might offer advantages for rehabilitation by answering to key requirements of motor learning, such as task specificity and variation. However, its usefulness for rehabilitation depends on its ability to elicit behavior that is comparable to that in real life. Before the clinical usage of VR can be encouraged, a thorou...

Background: Up until now, assessment of physical functioning in patients with low back pain is mostly completed with the use of patient reported outcome measurements (PROMs). There are however limitations to the use of these measurements such as inaccuracies due to recall bias, social desirability bias and errors in self-observation. A recent revi...

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) might offer advantages for rehabilitation by answering to key requirements of motor learning, such as task-specificity, variability, feedback and repetition. However, its usefulness for rehabilitation depends on its ability to elicit behaviour that is comparable to that in real life. Before the clinical use of IVR ca...

In healthy adults, four different muscle synergies have been described compared to three after stroke, as a result of merging of synergies. The presence of merged synergies was related to impaired motor function which makes muscle synergies a powerful tool for assessing neurological deficits. However, motor function after stroke is subject to a gre...

A better understanding of the coordinated activation patterns of the lower limbs, also known as muscle synergies, might help us improve assessment, goal setting and treatment plans. Therefore, it is necessary to gain insight in the number of muscle synergies and the distribution of muscle weightings that are present during walking after stroke

Abstract: INTRODUCTION During the first 3 months post-stroke, typically large improvements in leg paresis and walking are observed. However, previous studies suggest that these improvements are mainly driven by learning compensation strategies rather than by restoring inter-limb coordination. MAIN OBJECTIVE Stroke survivors from the first days on...

The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of vibrotactile signals during physical exercise by comparing differences in recognition between stationary and cycling positions. The impact of physical exercise on the ability to perceive vibrotactile cues is unknown, whereas the recognition in stationary position has been shown previously....

Purpose: The aim of this systematic review was to determine the number of muscle synergies and the distribution of muscle weightings in stroke patients during gait. Material and Methods: This review is registered on PROSPERO (number: CRD42018088701) and is written following the PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search was conducted using following da...

Objective:: To investigate the effectiveness of trunk training on trunk control, sitting and standing balance and mobility. Data sources:: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Cochrane Library, Rehab+ and ScienceDirect were searched until January 2019. Review methods:: Randomized controlled trials were inclu...

For product developers that design near-body products, virtual mannequins that represent realistic body shapes, are valuable tools. With statistical shape modeling, the variability of such body shapes can be described. Shape variation captured by statistical shape models (SSMs) is often polluted by posture variations, leading to less compact models...

Objective: Neuromuscular disorders can often be quantified by the amount of muscle activity and is generally measured through electromyography. However, this method cannot provide arbitrary data as it only detects fluctuations in electrical potential. There is a need for arbitrary and standardised assessments of muscle tone to enable physiotherapis...

This paper focuses on a test setting that could be used to enhance performance of bobsleigh teams. The collaboration of the teams plays an important role to maximize the performance during bobsleigh runs. We introduce a method to log forces at the start of the run. The setting is validated for 10 runs of nine pilot and brakeman duos. Runs with sync...