Article

Instrumented treadmills are becoming increasingly more common in
gait laboratories. Instrumented side-split treadmills allow the collection of
forces under each foot during walking. However, there may be a tendency to
increase the base of support when walking on these treadmills, influencing other
frontal plane mechanics as well. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
examine the effect of walking on a side-split instrumented treadmill on base of
gait and frontal plane kinematics of the lower extremity. METHODS: Twenty
subjects walked on both a split and a single-belt treadmill. Base of gait and
frontal plane kinematic angles and variability data were recorded. A one-way
ANOVA was used to determine differences between the single and split-belt
conditions at baseline and following a 10 min accommodation on the split-belt.
The relationships between the change in base of gait and change in each kinematic
variable were also determined. RESULTS: On average, the base of gait was 3.7 cm
wider on the split-belt treadmill with a 4mm gap between belts. No significant
differences were observed in the mean values of lower extremity kinematics or
kinematic variability at baseline or following the 10 min accommodation. However,
the increase in base of gait was significantly related to a decrease in peak knee
and hip adduction angles. CONCLUSION: The 4mm gap between the treadmill belts
significantly increased the mean base of gait in all subjects. This did not alter
mean frontal plane kinematics. However, as base of gait increased, the tendency
towards hip and knee abduction also increased.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS