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Segmental contribution to whole-body angular momentum during stepping in healthy young and old adults
Jérémie Begue1, Nicolas Peyrot2,3, Angélique Lesport2
1Laboratoire IRISSE - EA4075, UFR des Sciences de l'Homme et de l'Environnement, Université de la Réunion, 117 rue du Général Ailleret, 97430, Le Tampon, Ile de la Réunion, France. jeremie.begue@univ-reunion.fr.
Abstract:
Recent evidence suggests that during volitional stepping older adults control whole-body angular momentum (H) less effectively than younger adults, which may impose a greater challenge for balance control during this task in the elderly. This study investigated the influence of aging on the segment angular momenta and their contributions to H during stepping. Eighteen old and 15 young healthy adults were instructed to perform a series of stepping at two speed conditions: preferred and as fast as possible. Full-body kinematics were recorded to compute angular momenta of the trunk, arms and legs and their contributions to total absolute H on the entire stepping movement. Results indicated that older adults exhibited larger angular momenta of the trunk and legs in the sagittal plane, which contributed to a higher sagittal plane H range during stepping compared to young adults. Results also revealed that older adults had a greater trunk contribution and lower leg contribution to total absolute H in the sagittal plane compared to young adults, even though there was no difference in the other two planes. These results stress that age-related changes in H control during stepping arise as a result of changes in trunk and leg rotational dynamics.
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