Article

While age-related declines in walking mechanics have been documented, it remains
unclear if changes in walking mechanics with age occur as a natural consequence
of aging and to what extent these changes are related to a reduction in fitness
and physical activity with aging. The study aim was to determine if the walking
mechanics of an older (>50) yet highly active population are different from a
younger population (<40). Gait mechanics data for 79 middle-aged (50-64 yrs) and
54 older (65-80 yrs) individuals with >/= 7500 steps/day, based on a 7 day
activity monitoring history, and 33 younger adults (ages 18-40) were collected.
The older subjects did not reduce self-selected walking speed relative to the
younger subjects. However, the walking speed was maintained by increasing cadence
while reducing stride-length for middle-aged and older subjects. Middle-aged and
older adults had less ankle dorsi-flexion landing at heel-strike and older adults
also had less plantar flexion at toe-off. Small decreases in the ankle
dorsi-flexion moments (p=0.019, p=0.008) and increases in the hip extension
moments (p=0.004, p=0.005) were found for two normalized walking speeds for the
middle-aged and older adults compared to the young adults. These results provide
quantitative evidence that increased activity with aging can mitigate declines in
walking performance and mechanics with age. The high volume of walking activity
in the older subjects did not fully prevent changes in gait mechanics, but may
have minimized the magnitude of age-related changes on ambulatory function
relative to other reports of older inactive subjects.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS