{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T19:00:51Z","timestamp":1790103651030,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789689600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sci.","Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gait impairment, postural instability, and freezing of gait are major contributors to mobility limitations in Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD). Robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) has emerged as a promising rehabilitation strategy; however, its association with phase-specific lower-limb kinetic outcomes remains insufficiently characterized. This study compared Walkbot-based RAGT and conventional rehabilitation in terms of Walkbot-derived phase-specific lower-limb torque, functional balance, self-reported freezing-related gait impairment, and health-related quality of life in individuals with PD. This retrospective comparative study included 60 individuals with idiopathic PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages II\u2013III) who received either Walkbot-based RAGT (n = 30) or conventional rehabilitation (n = 30). Both groups completed 30 supervised sessions over 6 weeks. Biomechanical outcomes comprised Walkbot-derived lower-limb torque during the stance and swing phases for the clinically more affected and contralateral limbs. Clinical outcomes included the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q), and Parkinson\u2019s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). Between-group post-treatment differences were evaluated using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), adjusting each outcome for its corresponding baseline value. After baseline adjustment, post-treatment phase-specific lower-limb torque was higher in the RAGT group for the more affected limb during swing (adjusted difference, 0.057 Nm\/kg; 95% CI, 0.019\u20130.096; p = 0.004) and stance (0.145 Nm\/kg; 95% CI, 0.098\u20130.193; p &lt; 0.001), and for the contralateral limb during swing (0.051 Nm\/kg; 95% CI, 0.006\u20130.096; p = 0.027) and stance (0.205 Nm\/kg; 95% CI, 0.088\u20130.321; p = 0.001). The RAGT group also had higher baseline-adjusted BBS scores (adjusted difference, 5.78 points; 95% CI, 3.86\u20137.69; p &lt; 0.001) and lower FOG-Q scores (\u22120.94 points; 95% CI, \u22121.27 to \u22120.61; p &lt; 0.001). No significant between-group difference was observed for PDQ-39 (0.77 points; 95% CI, \u22120.16 to 1.69; p = 0.102). Walkbot-based RAGT was associated with more favorable baseline-adjusted phase-specific lower-limb torque, functional balance, and self-reported freezing-related gait impairment than conventional rehabilitation, whereas disease-specific quality of life did not differ significantly between groups. These findings highlight the potential value of integrating Walkbot-derived phase-specific kinetic assessment with clinical outcomes to provide a more quantitative characterization of rehabilitation-related locomotor changes in PD. Prospective randomized studies are needed to confirm these associations and establish the clinical utility of Walkbot-derived phase-specific lower-limb torque as an outcome measure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci16090989","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T17:56:41Z","timestamp":1790099801000},"page":"989","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Walkbot-Based Robot-Assisted Gait Training and Phase-Specific Lower-Limb Torque in Parkinson\u2019s Disease: A Retrospective Comparative Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3174-5630","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gokhan","family":"Ozkocak","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Aydin University, 34295 Istanbul, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8566-3166","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rocco Salvatore","family":"Calabr\u00f2","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Spinal Cord Unit, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico) Centro Neurolesi \u201cBonino-Pulejo\u201d, 98124 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17013","DOI":"10.1038\/nrdp.2017.13","article-title":"Parkinson disease","volume":"3","author":"Poewe","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. 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