Slower than normal walking speeds involve a pattern shift in joint and temporal coordination contributions.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Human locomotion
• Gait analysis

Background:

• Kinematic and spatiotemporal gait parameters scale with speed.
• Inter-joint coordination during swing is generally consistent at comfortable speeds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in lower extremity joint coordination during limb clearance and shortening across a range of walking speeds.
• To determine if coordination patterns adapt as gait speed decreases below comfortable levels.

Main Methods:

• 17 healthy adults walked at self-selected and progressively slower speeds.
• 3D motion analysis captured lower extremity kinematics.
• Linear mixed models analyzed joint influences on limb clearance and shortening.

Main Results:

• Joint influences for limb clearance (hip, knee, ankle) and shortening (knee, ankle) decreased with slower speeds.
• Temporal coordination of limb clearance varied with speed, with hip and knee influence timing reversing below self-selected speeds.
• Timing of knee and ankle influences on limb shortening occurred later in the gait cycle at slower speeds.

Conclusions:

• Relative joint contributions to limb clearance and shortening scale with walking speed.
• Temporal coordination of limb clearance is altered in healthy individuals when walking speed decreases below typical self-selected ranges.