Article

This study investigated the accuracy and reliability of four methods using
force-plate data for detecting the swing heel-off (HO) time in gait initiation.
Results of these methods were compared to those obtained by means of a reference
method using a footswitch. Ten young healthy adults performed 18 forward gait
initiation trials at self-selected speed and at maximal speed. Results showed
that the method based on vertical impulse was the most accurate and reliable in
determining HO in both speed conditions. The mean error obtained with this method
was -8+/-10ms in the self-selected speed condition (-7+/-10ms in the maximal
speed condition), with no significant effect of gait speed (P>0.05). These
findings suggest that this method based on force-plate data is valid and reliable
for detecting HO in forward gait initiation in the absence of additional
hardware.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS