A Visit to the Movement Laboratory

Amovement assessment allows Cassie's doctors, therapists and orthotists to look closely at how her muscles and joints work when Cassie is moving. This information helps the team make decisions about exercises, braces and surgery. It also shows the team how movement changes over time due to growth or treatment.

The movement lab is located in Mcmaster University in the Communications Research Building. Today when Cassie and I arrived we had trouble getting into the University area as there is a strike happening at Mcmaster and police are at all the entrances. After waiting in a lineup I phoned the therapist from the movement lab who came out to the entrance of the University and asked the security to let us through.

Cassie had to wear a swimsuit for the test. She was hooked up to various wires and electrodes. Cassie was patient and well behaved during the hook up.
Cassie had a full assessment which includes a collection of EMG and/or Kinematic and Kinetic info and a video. The test took one and a half hours.

Here is a summary of the tests completed:

EMG, or electromyography, measures the electrical activity of the muscles. Small electrodes are placed on the skin over the muscles being studied. The information goes into a computer as the muscles contract. The information the the computer screen can tell when the muscles are turned on or turned off.
Kinematic measurements allow us to study the angles of the limbs and joints during movement. Reflective markers are placed on different parts of the body with stickers. Eight camera with infrared lights take pictures of the markers during movement. The information is relayed to a computer which analyzes the information and produces graphs of the joint movements.
Kinetics-Force plates on the floor provide information about the forces the muscles generate as well as the effects of gravity. A physical assessment of muscle strength, range of motion and spasticity may also be done.