Validation of Balance Map Analysis of Walking at Different Speeds

Walking balance about falling in the forward direction is associated with the body's center of mass and placement of the swing foot during the swing phase. Balance map analysis evaluates walking balance based on the prediction of the reachability of an appropriate foot placement using a simple biomechanical model during the swing phase without active joint torque (ballistic walking model). The ballistic walking model can be justified in terms of the preferred walking speed because the metabolic energy consumption associated with muscle activity in faster and slower walking is higher than that in preferred speed walking. Therefore, the assumption that the active joint torque is sufficiently small during the swing phase may not hold in faster or slower walking, which can be a significant limitation of balance map analysis. In this study, it was hypothesized that steady-state walking at various walking speeds would be evaluated as stable for validation of the balance map analysis, and the gait patterns for three types of walking speeds (slow, normal, and fast) were examined. The results showed that the trajectories during the swing phase were within stable regions for all conditions, with a sufficient margin from the forward balance loss region. In addition, the margin from forward balance was reduced with an increase in walking velocity. The decrease in the margin during fast walking resulted from an increase in the forward velocity of the body's center of mass in relation to the velocity of the swing leg. These results suggest that balance map analysis effectively measures walking balance at various speeds.