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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Using a Split-belt Treadmill to Evaluate Generalization of Human Locomotor Adaptation
Published on: August 23, 2017
Carrying a weapon does not change stride-time variability during treadmill-based load carriage
Patrick Slattery1, Jon Wheat2,3, L Eduardo Cofré Lizama1,4,5
1Sport, Performance, and Nutrition Research Group, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract:
Gait biomechanics during load carriage tasks are a focus of military research aiming to optimise performance and manage injury risk. However, the impact of weapon handling on gait during these tasks remains relatively unexplored. This study investigates non-linear stride time measures, specifically detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and sample entropy (SE), which assess the persistence and regularity of stride time. Seventeen Australian Army soldiers completed 12-minute walking trials on an instrumented treadmill, both with and without a replica rifle while carrying 23.2 kg of load at speeds of 3.5 km/h, 5.5 km/h, and 6.5 km/h. Heel contacts were tracked using an 18-camera Vicon system. Mixed-effect model analyses indicated that weapon handling did not significantly affect stride time variability (DFA p = 0.46) or regularity (SE p = 0.42), suggesting it may not be a critical factor in future studies of stride time variability during load carriage tasks.
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