The effects of handrail holding on split-belt adaptation

Clinical and experimental locomotor learning is often done on treadmills, which are commonly equipped with handrails. However, the effects of holding handrails on locomotor learning are unknown. Here we study the effects of handrail holding on split-belt adaptation in four groups: 1) Holding side-mounted handrails; 2) Holding front-mounted handrails; 3) Control group with restrained arm swing; 4) Control group with arms free. When first exposed to split-belt walking the groups holding handrails were less perturbed than the control groups. Furthermore, the handrail groups showed little to no after-effects in step length symmetry, whereas the control groups did, suggesting a lack of locomotor learning in the handrail groups. This study has shown that simplifying balance control through handrail holding reduces split-belt adaptation. These findings have important implications for locomotor learning in the context of rehabilitation, as task simplification is frequently utilized in everyday clinical practice.