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Related Concept Videos

Muscles that Move the Arm01:31

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Nine muscles are involved in arm movements. Two of these, the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi, originate from the axial skeleton and are called axial muscles. The other seven originate from the scapula and are called the scapular muscles.
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Asymmetric Walkway: A Novel Behavioral Assay for Studying Asymmetric Locomotion
08:19

Asymmetric Walkway: A Novel Behavioral Assay for Studying Asymmetric Locomotion

Published on: January 15, 2016

Dynamic arm swinging in human walking.

Steven H Collins1, Peter G Adamczyk, Arthur D Kuo

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125, USA. shc@umich.edu

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 31, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Arm swinging during walking is energy efficient. This passive gait mechanism reduces the body's vertical ground reaction moment, conserving metabolic energy and making walking easier.

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Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Human gait analysis
  • Dynamic walking models

Background:

  • Human arm swinging during walking is a common behavior, despite the lack of an obvious direct role in bipedal locomotion.
  • The energetic costs and physiological benefits of arm swinging are not fully understood, prompting investigation into its underlying mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the costs and benefits of arm swinging during human walking.
  • To determine if passive dynamics can explain the observed arm swinging behavior.
  • To elucidate the physiological advantages conferred by arm swinging.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a passive dynamic walking model with free-swinging arms to simulate human gait.
  • Analysis of passive gaits with normal and opposite-to-normal arm phasing.
  • Experimental measurements of shoulder torque and metabolic energy expenditure in human subjects (n=10) under different arm swinging conditions.

Main Results:

  • The passive dynamic model successfully replicated human-like arm swinging without active joint torques.
  • Holding arms still increased metabolic energy by 12% and vertical ground reaction moment by 63%.
  • Opposite-to-normal arm phasing minimized shoulder effort but increased metabolic rate by 26% due to magnified ground reaction moments.

Conclusions:

  • Passive dynamics facilitate energy-efficient arm swinging during walking.
  • Arm swinging provides significant physiological benefits by reducing the vertical ground reaction moment.
  • The observed human arm swinging behavior is likely driven by the energetic advantages of minimizing ground reaction moments.