Assessment of gait kinetics using triaxial accelerometers

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Bone Physiology
• Sports Science

Background:

• Dynamic activities with high ground reaction forces (GRFs) and loading rates (LRs) positively influence bone health.
• Assessing free-living lower-extremity loading through field-based gait kinetics is crucial for understanding bone health.
• Current methods for quantifying dynamic loading in free-living conditions require further validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the correlation between peak vertical GRF and peak vertical LR with ankle peak vertical accelerations.
• To assess the correlation between peak resultant GRF and peak resultant LR with ankle peak resultant accelerations.
• To compare these correlations with those obtained from tibia, thigh, and waist accelerometers.

Main Methods:

• Ten healthy subjects (26 [19-34] years) participated in the study.
• Subjects performed walking trials at velocities ranging from 0.19 to 3.05 m/s.
• Ankle, tibia, thigh, and waist accelerometers were used to collect data alongside GRF measurements.

Main Results:

• Peak vertical accelerations at all measured locations positively correlated with peak vertical GRF and LR (r² > .53, P < .001), with the ankle showing the highest correlation (r² > .75, P < .001).
• Peak resultant accelerations at all locations positively correlated with peak resultant GRF and LR (r² > .57, P < .001), with the waist showing the highest correlation (r² > .70, P < .001).

Conclusions:

• Ankle accelerometers provide the most accurate estimates for peak vertical GRF and LR.
• Waist accelerometers offer the most accurate estimates for peak resultant GRF and LR.
• Ankle and waist accelerometers are valuable tools for assessing physical activity's impact on bone health.