Article

Uphill walking places more challenges on the locomotor system than level walking
does when the two limbs work together to ensure the stability and continuous
progression of the body over the base of support. With age-related degeneration
older people may have more difficulty in maintaining balance during uphill
walking, and may thus experience an increased risk of falling. The current study
aimed to investigate using gait analysis techniques to determine the effects of
age and slope angles on the control of the COM relative to the COP in terms of
their inclination angles (IA) and the rate of change of IA (RCIA) during uphill
walking. The elderly were found to show IAs similar to those of the young, but
with reduced self-selected walking speed and RCIAs (P<0.05). After adjusting for
walking speed differences, the elderly showed significantly greater excursions of
IA in the sagittal plane (P<0.05) and increased RCIA at heel-strike and during
single limb support (SLS) and double limb support (DLS) in the sagittal plane
(P<0.05), and increased RCIA at heel-strike in the frontal plane (P<0.05). The
RCIAs were significantly reduced with increasing slope angles (P<0.05). The
current results show that the elderly adopted a control strategy different from
the young during uphill walking, and that the IA and RCIA during walking provide
a sensitive measure to differentiate individuals with different balance control
abilities. The current results and findings may serve as baseline data for future
clinical and ergonomic applications.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS