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Updated: Feb 22, 2026
Using a Split-belt Treadmill to Evaluate Generalization of Human Locomotor Adaptation
Published on: August 23, 2017
Muscle synergies are similar when typically developing children walk on a treadmill at different speeds and slopes
Adam Rozumalski1, Katherine M Steele2, Michael H Schwartz3
1Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, St. Paul, MN, United States.
Insights
Neuromuscular control strategies, or synergies, remained consistent in children walking at various speeds and slopes. Gait patterns changed, supporting the neurological origin of synergies, not biomechanical constraints.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Gait Analysis
Background:
- Investigating the relationship between gait changes and neuromuscular control strategies (synergies).
- Hypothesizing that synergies are neurologically based and not solely dependent on mechanical task constraints.
- Examining how varying treadmill speeds and slopes affect gait and synergies in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if changes in gait patterns correlate with changes in motor synergies during treadmill walking.
- To test the hypothesis that synergies are neurological in origin.
Main Methods:
- Collected kinematic, kinetic, and electromyography (EMG) data from 16 typically developing children.
- Children walked on a treadmill across nine speed and slope combinations.
- Analyzed gait using modified Gait Deviation Index for kinematics and kinetics; calculated synergy correlations between stages.
Main Results:
- Kinematics and kinetics significantly differed at higher slopes compared to level ground walking.
- Synergies remained consistent across all tested treadmill speeds and slopes.
- High correlations between synergies across stages indicated stable neuromuscular control.
Conclusions:
- Neuromuscular control strategies (synergies) are consistent despite altered gait patterns across different treadmill conditions.
- Findings support the theory that motor synergies are primarily neurological.
- Movement patterns (kinematics and kinetics) change, but the underlying control strategies (synergies) do not, indicating neurological independence from biomechanical constraints.
Background:
The aim of this study was to determine whether changes in synergies relate to changes in gait while walking on a treadmill at multiple speeds and slopes. The hypothesis was that significant changes in movement pattern would not be accompanied by significant changes in synergies, suggesting that synergies are not dependent on the mechanical constraints but are instead neurological in origin.
Methods:
Sixteen typically developing children walked on a treadmill for nine combinations (stages) of different speeds and slopes while simultaneously collecting kinematics, kinetics, and surface electromyography (EMG) data. The kinematics for each stride were summarized using a modified version of the Gait Deviation Index that only includes the sagittal plane. The kinetics for each stride were summarized using a modified version of the Gait Deviation Index - Kinetic which includes sagittal plane moments and powers. Within each synergy group, the correlations of the synergies were calculated between the treadmill stages.
Results:
While kinematics and kinetics were significantly altered at the highest slope compared to level ground when walking on a treadmill, synergies were similar across stages.
Conclusions:
The high correlations between synergies across stages indicate that neuromuscular control strategies do not change as children walk at different speeds and slopes on a treadmill. However, the multiple significant differences in kinematics and kinetics between stages indicate real differences in movement pattern. This supports the theory that synergies are neurological in origin and not simply a response to the biomechanical task constraints.
