Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Training Persons with Spinal Cord Injury to Ambulate Using a Powered Exoskeleton
09:46

Training Persons with Spinal Cord Injury to Ambulate Using a Powered Exoskeleton

Published on: June 16, 2016

Baby carriage: infants walking with loads

Jessie S Garciaguirre1, Karen E Adolph, Patrick E Shrout

  • 1Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. jsg251@nyu.edu

Child Development
|March 27, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Carrying loads, even 15% of body weight, significantly disrupts infant walking, affecting gait and footfall patterns. Infants show unique leaning responses to asymmetrical loads, differing from adults.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Biomechanics
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • Infant balance control is crucial for independent walking.
  • Understanding how infants adapt to external perturbations is key to developmental research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of load carriage on infant gait stability and patterns.
  • To analyze infant postural responses to symmetrical and asymmetrical loads.

Main Methods:

  • 14-month-old infants walked with 15% body weight in shoulder packs (symmetrical and asymmetrical loads).
  • Gait parameters and footfall patterns were analyzed.
  • Infant postural responses to loads were observed.

Main Results:

  • Both load types disrupted alternating gait and led to less mature footfall patterns.
  • Back loads most severely impacted walking.
  • Infants leaned with asymmetrical loads, unlike adults who lean away.
  • Less experienced walkers and those with chubbier proportions were more affected.

Conclusions:

  • Load carriage presents significant balance challenges for new walkers.
  • Infants utilize distinct, developing strategies for balance control under load.
  • Findings suggest a developmental trajectory from accommodation to compensatory strategies in balance.

More Related Videos

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable09:24

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable

Published on: May 17, 2024

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task11:18

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Published on: June 1, 2015

Related Concept Videos

Eccentric Loading01:16

Eccentric Loading

Eccentric loading is a crucial concept in the study of structural engineering and mechanics, particularly when analyzing the stability and stress distribution in columns. Unlike centric loading, where the force is applied along the centroidal axis, causing uniform compression, eccentric loading occurs when a force is applied off-center. This off-center application introduces not only direct compressive stress but also bending stress, significantly influencing the column's behavior under load.
Parental Care00:55

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
Migration00:53

Migration

Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.