CLINICAL TRIAL
COMPARATIVE STUDY
JOURNAL ARTICLE
RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Variability of step kinematics in young and older adults.

Gait & Posture 2004 August
Fall-related injuries are the most common and serious medical problems facing older adults. Recent studies of older adults have focused on the variability of step kinematics and the relationship to falling. The accuracy of step variability estimates is proportional to the number of steps that are collected. The use of an instrumented treadmill allows simultaneous collection of spatial and temporal step kinematics for a large number of continuous steps. The current study was conducted to determine the influence of age, walking velocity and handrail use on the variability of step kinematics using a treadmill protocol. Eighteen young adults (average age: 27.7 +/- 3.3 years) and 12 healthy older adults (average age: 73.4 +/- 2.3 years) were recruited from the community. Temporal and spatial gait parameters were quantified using custom designed software from measurements collected during treadmill walking. The primary independent variables were the variability of step length, step width, and step time. Step width variability of older adults was significantly larger than that of young adults. Walking velocity did not influence step kinematic variability. Handrail usage influenced the variability of step length and step width, but not of step time. The present results, and those of previous studies, point to a consistent relationship between age and step width variability. Since step width variability has been implicated in falls, further research is warranted.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app