Article

Stride duration of young healthy subjects walking at spontaneous speed fluctuates
over the long-term in a very complex way. The presence of long-range
autocorrelations among these fluctuations has already been highly suggested for
subjects walking on level ground, but the mathematical methods used among studies
are variable. Moreover, despite the frequent use of a treadmill in research and
in rehabilitation, the presence of such autocorrelations was nearly exclusively
assessed during level-ground walking. The first aim of this study was to confirm
the presence of long-range autocorrelations among stride duration variability on
level ground with a good level of confidence. The stride duration fluctuations of
10 young healthy subjects were assessed on a 37-meter-long track using an
integrated approach that combines the results of rescaled range analysis and
power spectral analysis. Secondly, the results obtained from treadmill tests were
compared with the outcomes of the level-ground walking tests in order to
challenge the persistence of the long-range autocorrelations during treadmill
walking. Finally, the third aim of this study was to test the reproducibility of
the outcomes by comparing the results obtained on the treadmill during two
different trials. The outcomes of this study provide significant evidence to
confirm the hypothesis that long-range autocorrelations are present among stride
duration variability, not only on level ground but also on the treadmill. The
reproducibility of the results obtained during treadmill walking further
validates the use of a treadmill to assess the long-term fluctuations of gait.
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Langue : ANGLAIS