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Aging effects on leg joint variability during walking with balance perturbations
Mu Qiao1, Jody A Feld2, Jason R Franz1
1Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, United States.
Gait & Posture
|March 7, 2018
Summary
Aging increases leg joint variability during walking perturbations, especially in older adults. This highlights specific joints for targeted therapies to improve balance in the elderly.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Gerontology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Older adults experience more balance issues during walking than younger adults.
- Understanding age-related changes in neuromechanical strategies for balance is limited at the joint level.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how gait phase and aging affect leg joint kinematic variability during perturbed walking.
- Hypothesize that joint variability changes with gait phase and perturbations, with greater effects in older adults.
Main Methods:
- Collected leg joint kinematics in young and older adults.
- Applied mediolateral optical flow perturbations of varying amplitudes during walking.
Main Results:
- Leg joint variability is gait phase-dependent, with adjustments in push-off and early swing.
- Young adults increased hip joint variability to adjust step width during perturbations.
- Older adults showed larger, more widespread increases in joint kinematic variability.
Conclusions:
- Perturbations significantly increase joint kinematic variability in older adults.
- Specific joints (sagittal knee, coronal hip) contribute most to step length and width variability.
- Findings can inform joint-specific therapies for balance impairment in aging populations.
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