Article

Uphill walking is an inevitable part of daily living, placing more challenges on
the locomotor system with greater risk of falls than level walking does. The
current study aimed to investigate the effects of inclination angles on the
inter-joint and inter-limb load-sharing during uphill walking in terms of total
support moment and contributions of individual joint moments to the total support
moment. Fifteen young adults walked up walkways with 0 degrees , 5 degrees , 10
degrees and 15 degrees of slope while kinematic and kinetic data were collected
and analyzed. With increasing inclination angles, the first peak of the total
support moment was increased with unaltered individual joint contributions,
suggesting an unaltered inter-joint control pattern in the leading limb to meet
the increased demands. The second peak of the total support moment remained
unchanged with increasing inclination angles primarily through a compensatory
redistribution of the hip and knee moments. During DLS, the leading limb shared
the majority of the whole body support moments. The current results reveal basic
intra- and inter-limb load-sharing patterns of uphill walking, which will be
helpful for a better understanding of the control strategies adopted and for
subsequent clinical applications.
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Langue : ANGLAIS