THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING SAFE-FALL STRATEGIES FOR LOWER LIMB EXOSKELETONS

The ability to stand and walk usually plays an important role in performing activities of daily living and maintaining an independent life. However, mobility impairments impact many people’s lives all over the world, and have significant effects on their quality of life. Mobility disability was identified as the most prevalent type of disability in the United States and the third most common disability in Canada (Courtney-Long et al., 2015),(Statistics Canada, 2013). Several diseases lead to mobility disability, and among those are injuries to the spinal cord, with a high prevalence of occurrence (Rosenberg, Bombardier, Hoffman, & Belza, 2011). Spinal cord injury (SCI) has various consequences such as motor and/or sensory deficits, often including partial or complete impairment with walking. As a result, assistive and rehabilitation technologies have been developed and used to help affected people maintain their independence and/or improve their functional mobility to perform activities of daily living.

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