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Arm swing in human walking: what is their drive?
Marije Goudriaan1, Ilse Jonkers2, Jaap H van Dieen3
1Research Group for Neuromotor Rehabilitation, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Biomedical Sciences Group, KU Leuven, Belgium.
Gait & Posture
|May 29, 2014
Summary
Active muscle control significantly contributes to arm swing during walking, enhancing amplitude and ensuring out-of-phase movement. Passive dynamics play a role, but muscle activity is crucial for typical human walking arm swing patterns.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Human locomotion
- Musculoskeletal modeling
Background:
- Arm swing during walking is a key feature of human gait.
- Previous studies have not fully elucidated the roles of passive dynamics and active muscle control in arm swing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the contribution of passive dynamics to arm swing during walking.
- To determine the necessity of active muscle control for typical arm swing kinematics.
Main Methods:
- 3D motion analysis captured arm swing kinematics.
- Musculoskeletal modeling in OpenSim simulated walking with and without muscle excitations.
- Comparison of arm swing amplitude and relative phase between simulations.
Main Results:
- Passive dynamics partially contribute to arm swing.
- Simulations without muscle activity showed significantly reduced arm swing amplitude (p<0.05).
- Absence of muscle activity led to a more in-phase arm swing pattern (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
- Active muscle control is essential for achieving normal arm swing amplitude during walking.
- Muscle activity is required to establish the out-of-phase arm swing relative to the legs observed in typical human gait.
- Passive dynamics alone are insufficient to replicate natural arm swing kinematics.
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