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Published on: March 7, 2020
The step length-frequency relationship in physically active community-dwelling older women
Agnes Zijlstra1, Eling D de Bruin, Nienke Bruins
1Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 196, 9700 AD, Groningen, The Netherlands. a.zijlstra@rug.nl
Abstract:
This study evaluated the step length-frequency relationship in physically active community-dwelling older women in order to investigate whether the relationship between these two spatio-temporal gait parameters changes with increasing age. Forty older women in four age groups, i.e. 64-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80-85 year olds, participated in the study. Subjects walked at five different self-selected speeds and while simultaneously performing an additional cognitive and/or upper-extremity motor task. Gait parameters were determined from forward accelerations measured by a tri-axial accelerometer on the lower back. All subjects demonstrated a strong linear relationship between step length and step frequency for walking at different speeds. No evidence for a change in the step length-frequency relationship with age was found, suggesting that there are no differences between physically active older women of different age groups regarding the adoption of a "cautious gait", i.e. a gait pattern characterized by a reduced step length.
