Motor imagery is increasingly used as a plasticity-booster to complement conventional rehabilitation. Here the investigators test the hypothesis that the combination of mental training with conventional rehabilitation may speed up the recovery in patients with total knee arthroplasty. The investigators also characterize the brain correlates of such recovery with imagery tasks for virtual reality environments.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
100
Patients of the experimental group will be instructed to imagine walking, from a first person perspective, focusing on the kinaesthetic sensations typically associated with the movement. The motor imagery training will be performed using the support of a laptop, on which there will be presented complex static scenes, representing different kind of paths with different landmarks to reach during the mental walking.
Patients of the control group 1 will undergo a general cognitive training, not based on motor imagery.
All the subjects included in the trial will undergo a series of behavioral test for the evaluation of gai abilities
IRCCS Galeazzi Orthopedic Hospital
Milan, Italy
RECRUITINGSpeed of walking
The speed of walking recorded in total knee arthroplasty patients of the experimental group will be compared with the same measure recorded in both control groups.
Time frame: 20 days
BOLD (blood oxygen level-dependent) activity
The BOLD activity recorded during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in TKA patients of the experimental group will be compared with the same measure recorded in both control groups.
Time frame: 20 days
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