Motor Control

Dynamic Walking 2026

Ally Clarke Energetics, MotorControl, Presentation, Projects , , ,

Members of the lab traveled to the base of Mt. Rainier for the Dynamic Walking Conference, where conversations ranged from hummingbird drumming to exoskeletons and robotics.

Dr. Kat Steele was selected to give a 20-minute talk, “Bayesian methods for individualized modeling with wearable data.” PhD student Ally Clarke gave a 5-minute talk on energy savings from bodyweight support in children with cerebral palsy, sharing results from our Cerebral Palsy Energetics study . PhD student Mackenzie Pitts also gave a 5-minute talk on her work from the Dynamic Motor Control study, discussing the mechanical strategies children with cerebral palsy use to adapt step length during split-belt treadmill walking.

We loved reconnecting with former lab members Dr. Michael Rosenberg, Dr. Momona Yamagami, and Tori Landrum.

\

AK Clarke, AJ Ries, MH Schwartz, KM Steele (2026) “Influence of body weight support on motor control in typically developing children and children with cerebral palsy”

Katie Energetics, JournalArticle, Publications , , ,

Journal Article in Journal of Biomechanics

For children with cerebral palsy (CP), interventions that provide support like BWS treadmill training, orthoses, or walkers have been shown to improve walking speed, endurance, and/or kinematics – although responses are variable and challenging to predict.

Experimental setup. Body weight support is provided via vertical force application at the pelvis by the support system (Humotech, force controller, and overhead gantry). Electromyography was recorded bilaterally from seven lower limb muscles.

Aim: Body weight support (BWS) is often provided during rehabilitation interventions or activities of daily living with assistive devices for children with cerebral palsy (CP). How individuals alter their muscle activity and coordination in response to BWS provides insight into neuromuscular control and may inform the design of future interventions.

Methods: Children with CP (n = 12) and typically developing (TD) peers (n = 8) walked on a treadmill with 1%, 20%, 40%, and 60% BWS while electromyographic (EMG) data was recorded from 7 lower limb muscles. We computed muscle synergies from the EMG data using non-negative matrix factorization.

Results: As BWS increased, activity of support muscles like the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius decreased for both CP and TD groups. Children with CP had significantly reduced synergy complexity compared to TD peers (total variance accounted for by one synergy, tVAF1 = 76.3 for CP versus 67.4 for TD averaged across all conditions). However, synergy complexity did not change with BWS for either group.

Interpretation: Although BWS may assist mobility by reducing demand on support muscles, it does not directly modulate motor control.

Neuromechanics & Mobility Lab presents at ASB 2025

Katie Awards, EarlyMobility, MotorControl, News, Presentation, Projects , , , , ,

The Neuromechanics & Mobility Lab had a fantastic showing at the 2025 American Society of Biomechanics (ASB) Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA! From student awards to impactful presentations, our team contributed to advancing the science of human movement and rehabilitation engineering.

We’re proud to celebrate Ally Clarke, who received a Student Travel Award for her abstract titled “Influence of Bodyweight Support on Motor Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy.” Her work was recognized by the ASB community for its contribution to pediatric motor control research. Congratulations, Ally!

Lab members presented posters across multiple themes. Madeleine McCreary explored toddler muscle activation during joystick driving in her poster “Kicking it off: Does toddler leg muscle activation while driving change with posture?” Mackenzie Pitts shared insights on “Mechanisms of split-belt treadmill adaptation in children with cerebral palsy.” Ally Clarke presented her award-winning work on bodyweight support and motor control, and Katie Landwehr-Prakel showcased her research on “Muscle activity during walker-based exoskeleton use in children with cerebral palsy.”

Beyond the science, our team engaged in workshops, debates, and networking events that emphasized advocacy, inclusion, and the integration of lived experiences into biomechanics research. The ASB 2025 program featured sessions on AI in biomechanics, wearable tech, and neuromechanics – all aligning with our lab’s mission to enhance mobility and participation.

Thank you to ASB and the biomechanics community for an inspiring week. We’re already looking forward to connecting again at the World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB) in Vancouver in 2026!

  • Four people standing together on a rooftop at sunset with a scenic view of the Pittsburgh city skyline, yellow bridges, and river in the background during ASB 2025
  • Four individuals standing in front of a research poster at ASB 2025, representing the University of Washington.
  • Group of individuals standing and discussing research in front of scientific posters at ASB 2025, with charts and graphs visible on the posters
  • Researcher presenting findings to an attendee in front of scientific posters at ASB 2025, showcasing graphs and charts related to biomechanics research.
  • Two individuals standing in front of three research posters on cerebral palsy at ASB 2025

Congratulations – Ally Clarke receives ASB Student Travel Award!

Katie Awards, Energetics, News , , ,
A young woman with blonde hair is wearing a green sweater and blue jeans while standing in front of a blossoming tree.

We’re excited to share that Ally Clarke has been selected to receive a Student Travel Award from the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB) to attend the 2025 ASB Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. This award supports students who have authored abstracts accepted for presentation. Ally’s abstract Influence of Bodyweight Support on Motor Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy was selected for presentation at the meeting, and we’re proud to see her work recognized and supported by the biomechanics community.

Congratulations, Ally!

CR DeVol, SR Shrivastav, VM Landrum, KF Bjornson, D Roge, CT Moritz, KM Steele (2025) “Effects of spinal stimulation and short-burst treadmill training on gait biomechanics in children with cerebral palsy”

Katie JournalArticle, News, SpinalStim , , , , , , , , , ,

Journal article in Gait & Posture

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have an injury to the central nervous system around the time of birth that affects the development of the brain and spinal cord. This injury leads to changes in gait neuromechanics, including muscle activity and joint kinematics. Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) is a novel neuromodulation technique that may improve movement and coordination in children with CP when paired with targeted physical therapy.

Example kinematics and muscles activity at each assessment timepoint for P03’s more-affected side. A) Sagittal-plane hip, knee, and ankle kinematics over the gait cycle. Horizontal colored lines indicate where there were significant changes in kinematics over each phase of the study based on statistical parametric mapping (p Aim: How does the combination of tSCS and short-burst interval locomotor treadmill training (SBLTT) affect individual gait neuromechanics in children with CP?

Methods: Four children with CP (4–13 years old), received 24 sessions each of SBLTT only and SBLTT with tSCS (tSCS+SBLTT). Clinical assessments of spasticity and passive range of motion (PROM), as well as biomechanical assessments of joint kinematics, musculotendon lengths, and muscle activity were recorded during overground, barefoot walking. Assessments were taken before and after each intervention, and 8-weeks later.

Results: The combination of tSCS+SBLTT led to greater increases in hip and knee extension than SBLTT only for three participants. Three children also became more plantarflexed at the ankle during stance after tSCS+SBLTT compared to SBLTT only. While tSCS+SBLTT reduced spasticity, these changes were only weakly correlated with changes in musculotendon lengths during gait or PROM, with the largest correlation between change in gastrocnemius operating musculotendon length during fast walking and gastrocnemius spasticity (R2 = 0.26) and change in plantarflexor PROM and gastrocnemius spasticity (R2 = 0.23).

Interpretation: Children with CP used a more upright, less crouched posture during gait after tSCS+SBLTT. Large reductions in spasticity after tSCS+SBLTT were only weakly correlated with changes in kinematics and PROM. Understanding the mechanisms by which tSCS may affect gait for children with CP is critical to optimize and inform the use of tSCS for clinical care.