Article

This study aims to investigate the effects of age, gender and walking speed on
the gait performance during walking at a range of percentage of preferred walking
speed (PPWS). The subjects were aged from 20 to 60 years and both genders were
equally represented. A nested-factorial analysis of variance was employed. The
independent variables include walking speed (80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% PPWS), age
(young, middle, and older groups) and gender. The response measures include lower
limb joint motion, vertical ground reaction force (VGRF), muscle electromyography
(EMG), heart rate, and perceived exertion of whole body and local areas. The
results show that different age and gender groups had similar gait performance on
most of the joint motions, HR, as well as the perceived exertions while walking
at a range of PPWS. In addition, these performance generally increased with the
increasing walking speed and the trend becomes more obvious when the speed was
higher than 120% PWS. Age and gender differences have been found in VGRFs and
muscle EMG. Females exhibited significantly higher VGRF in the heel-strike and
toe-off stages, as well as higher tibialis anterior muscle activity. Older
subjects had significantly higher rectus femoris muscle activity than younger
adults. Besides, the interaction between gender and walking speed was significant
on VGRF in the toe-off stage. Further discussions are addressed.
CI - Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS