Body anthropometry affects spatiotemporal preferences in walking and running

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Human locomotion
• Gait analysis

Background:

• Human walking and running gaits show individual spatiotemporal variations.
• The causes of this variability are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if body mass, relative segment lengths, and relative segment masses contribute to gait variability.
• To determine the influence of these factors beyond the Froude number.

Main Methods:

• Collected anthropometric and spatiotemporal data from 103 trained runners during walking and running on a force-measuring treadmill.
• Utilized linear mixed-effects models to analyze the contribution of anthropometric factors to gait differences.

Main Results:

• Froude number explained a significant portion of spatiotemporal variation.
• Anthropometric factors improved model performance, especially for variables with lower Froude dependence.
• Heavier individuals and those with larger relative foot lengths had longer stance times and higher duty factors.
• Greater relative foot-shoe mass decreased stride frequency by lengthening leg swing time.

Conclusions:

• Individual anthropometry influences gait spatiotemporal parameters, particularly stance and swing phases.
• These variations suggest adaptive strategies to optimize metabolic cost during locomotion.
• Understanding these factors can inform personalized gait training and analysis.