Triggering motor adaptations at the pelvis using the RGR trainer

The ability to generate motor adaptations in response to a perturbation is directly related to the capacity of a person to process the feedback related to the perturbation and to generate an adequate motor plan in response. In this work, we investigated the possibility to generate motor adaptations in response to perturbations in the pelvis trajectory in a pool of healthy subjects. Subjects experienced up- and downward force field perturbations at the pelvic area with and without visual feedback on the actual and desired pelvic trajectories. Results showed that it is possible to trigger a motor adaptation behavior while perturbing pelvis obliquity only in response to a downward pushing force field and in the presence of visual feedback, thus indicating a) that pelvic perturbations are not deemed as task relevant by the central nervous system while walking on a treadmill; b) that visual feedback can trigger adaptation to non-task relevant perturbations; c) that hip abductors and extensors cannot generate strong pelvis-dropping forces.