Changes to gait speed and the walk ratio with rhythmic auditory cuing

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics of human locomotion
• Gait analysis and motor control

Background:

• The walk ratio (WR), a proportion of step length to cadence, remains constant across various walking speeds.
• Cadence is easily adjustable using rhythmic auditory cuing (RAC), unlike step length.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of RAC-guided cadences on actual cadence, step length, WR, and gait speed during overground walking.

Main Methods:

• Sixteen healthy adults walked over a GAITRite electronic walkway, synchronizing steps to RAC tempos from 80 to 140 beats per minute.
• Mean absolute percent error (MAPE) assessed cadence accuracy.
• Repeated-measures ANOVA and simple linear regressions analyzed the effects of RAC on gait parameters.

Main Results:

• Participants accurately matched their cadence to RAC tempos (MAPE < 1.1%).
• Cadence increased proportionally with RAC (slope=1.02), while step length increased at a slower rate (slope=0.40).
• Gait speed increased predictably with cadence (slope=1.41), with each 10 steps/minute increase corresponding to a 14 cm/s speed increase.

Conclusions:

• Rhythmic auditory cuing reliably alters gait cadence in healthy adults.
• Gait speed increases predictably with RAC-guided cadence, independent of changes in the walk ratio.
• RAC presents a viable strategy for modulating gait speed during overground walking.