Article

Given the consequences of falling to the side by older adults, attention has
focused on identifying variables associated with changes in lateral stability and
fall risk. Step-width (SW) and step-width variability (SWV) have traditionally
been associated with such changes. Recently the "margin of stability" (MOS) has
been adopted for describing dynamic stability. Although these measures may be
influenced by the conditions during which locomotion occurs, only one published
within-subject study has compared SW (but not SWV or MOS) during overground and
treadmill walking. Therefore, we compared SW, SWV and minimum MOS (MOS(min)) in
10 healthy young subjects walking at self-selected speeds, both overground and on
a treadmill. We found SW was significantly larger (p=0.001), and SWV
significantly smaller (p=0.001) during treadmill walking, and that these changes
were meaningfully correlated between tasks. In contrast, MOS(min) was insensitive
to treadmill versus overground walking. This suggested first, that SW and SWV
only partially reflect frontal plane stability, and second, that the goal of the
central nervous system may be to maintain a constant MOS(min) regardless of task.
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Langue : ANGLAIS