Intersegmental dynamics during the swing phase of gait: a comparison of knee kinetics between 7 year-old children and adults

Existing literature suggests that kinetic patterns associated with children's gait may not be adult-like until after 7 years of age. The development of adult-like kinetic patterns, especially those involving non-muscular interaction moments, occurs with time and experience. We tested the hypothesis that compared to adults, 7 year-old children would demonstrate a relatively larger contribution of muscle moment and a smaller contribution of interaction moment to the net knee joint moment during the swing phase of gait was tested. Net knee joint moments and the contributions of muscle and interaction moments to the net moments were compared between 7 year-old children and adults. Knee kinematics and net joint moments were similar between the two groups. Also, the contributions of the muscle and interaction moments to the net joint moment were similar (P > 0.05), suggesting that the ability to employ interaction moments during the swing phase of gait did not differ between the two groups.