IMSL

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Interdisciplinary Movement Science Laboratory (IMSL)

Improving the lives of aging adults with disability through innovative rehabilitation research.

Our Mission is to promote activity and healthy aging through movement.

Our Research

Rehabilitation in People with Lower-Limb Osseointegration

People are routinely prescribed a traditional socket prosthesis following lower-limb amputation, and despite advances in socket design, approximately 30% of socket prosthesis users report severe complications and pain due to the fit of their socket. Prosthesis osseointegration surgery creates a direct connection between the bone and prosthetic limb through a bone-anchored abutment, eliminating the need for a socket interface. Osseointegration is offered as a secondary procedure to people with a traumatic lower-limb amputation who experience failure with their socket prosthesis. The purpose of our osseointegration clinical research line is to evaluate changes in patient-reported outcomes, functional capacity, free-living physical activity, and gait biomechanics from before osseointegration surgery to one-year following osseointegration. This work will lead to evidence-based development of interventions specific to rehabilitation for people with major lower limb amputation after osseointegrated prosthesis implantation.

OI Study Section

SPARX3: Study in Parkinson Disease of Exercise Phase 3 Clinical Trial

SPARX3 is a research study to learn more about the effects of aerobic exercise on people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who have not yet started medication for their PD. It will compare the effects of moderate intensity treadmill exercise to high intensity treadmill exercise on the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

This study is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

www.sparx3pd.com

Walking Exercise Sustainability for Veterans with Lower-Limb Amputation

Veterans with lower-limb amputation have poor long-term outcomes even with the use of a prosthesis. Our study will determine the potential of a walking exercise self-management program to achieve sustained exercise participation. The 18-month intervention is focused on helping Veterans reduce habitual sedentary behavior through a remote exercise behavior-change intervention that includes multiple clinical disciplines, individualized exercise self-management training, and peer support. This innovative approach shifts the conventional rehabilitation paradigm to specifically target the life-long exercise sustainability and remove an underlying cause of disability for Veterans with lower-limb amputation.

Click here to view WEST clinical trials report.

Blood Flow Restriction and Veterans with MS

This project proposes to study a strength training program using blood flow restriction (BFR) in people with advanced disability due to MS. BFR uses a device that partially blocks blood flow to the exercising limb and causes a response in the muscle which can replicate the effects of high-intensity training using much lower intensities. This is ideal for people with MS who have advanced disability, as they often cannot tolerate higher intensity exercise due to severe weakness and fatigue. By studying BFR training in people with advanced disability due to MS, the investigators hope to help improve strength, mobility, fatigue, and quality of life in people with MS.

Click here to view the BRAVe-MS study report.

https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/physical-therapy-program/about/news-and-events/ms-gait-and-balance-symposium/

Transfemoral Osseiointegrated Prosthesis Limb Load Symmetry Training (TOPLOAD)

Habitual, asymmetrical joint and limb loading are common movement patterns adopted by people with transfemoral amputation, which persist following osseointegrated bone-anchored limb (BAL) implantation. Over time, repetitive overloading of the non-amputated limb and underloading of the amputated limb increase the risk of osteoarthritis and limit the stimulus for promoting bone and joint health. Biofeedback training using instrumented shoe insoles may be a beneficial tool to improve between-limb loading symmetry. This study will assess the feasibility of a telehealth limb-loading biofeedback training intervention following transfemoral BAL implantation surgery, which will inform further development and optimization of rehabilitation protocols to reduce the risk of secondary musculoskeletal health conditions.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05695911

Influence of Prosthetic Foot Stiffness on Transtibial Osseointegrated Bone-Anchored Limb Outcomes (TBAL)

Selection of prosthesis componentry is an important step following amputation to minimize asymmetric joint and limb loading, which can contribute to the risk of osteoarthritis or other long-term injuries. In individuals with transtibial bone-anchored limbs (BALs), proper loading between the bone and implant is critical to promoting and maintaining osseointegration, however it is unclear how prosthetic componentry influences loading mechanics and functional outcomes. In this study, individuals with transtibial amputation using either a BAL or standard socket prosthesis will perform activities of daily living while wearing three different prosthetic feet of varying stiffness. This data will be used to better understand how prosthetic foot stiffness influences key biomechanical outcomes like dynamic bone-implant loading, function, pain, joint loading mechanics, and fall risk.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07263945

In this one visit study, high-resolution peripheral quantitative computerized tomography (HR-pQCT) scans will be taken to determine your bone structure and bone strength at four different locations on your body. Researchers hope to learn more about how bone structure and bone strength change after dysvascular lower limb amputation through this study.

Facilities

Overground Motion Analysis Lab

Research Patients

1725 square foot motion analysis laboratory
Ten camera 3-dimensional motion capture (Vicon)
Four imbedded forceplates (Bertec)
15 meter walkway

Instrumented Split Belt Treadmill Motion Analysis Lab

Patient assisting with conducting research

Twelve camera 3-dimential motion capture including hardware and software (Vicon)
Split-belt force-plate instrumented treadmill (Bertec)
Zeno Electronic Walkway

Other Equipment

Wearable accelerometer-based systems (Delsys, Actigraph, ActivPAL, Notch, XSENS, Medtronic Zephyr Performance Systems)
Telemedicine equipment (Tablets for remote participant interaction, Dedicated telehealth workspace)
Electromechanical dynamometer (Humac Norm)
Indirect Calorimeter (Parvo Medics)