Minimum energy trajectories of the swing ankle when stepping over obstacles of different heights

This study was performed to test the hypothesis that the motion of the lower extremities when stepping over obstacles is governed by the criterion of minimum mechanical energy. The trajectories of the swing ankle during level walking and when stepping over obstacles of 51, 102, 153, and 204 mm heights were predicted and measured for eight healthy young adults. The predictions were made with a planar, seven-link linkage model based on the criterion of minimum mechanical energy using the method of dynamic programming. When stepping over obstacles, the predicted trajectories of the swing ankle were just high enough for the swing toe to clear the obstacles. The clearances measured between the obstacle and toe were significantly larger than those predicted. When stepping over obstacles the levels of work required to generate the measured trajectories were significantly larger (p < or = 0.002) than those required to produce the predicted trajectories. The amount of work necessary to generate the measured or predicted trajectories increased linearly (significant at p < or = 0.022) with obstacle height and, except when predicting the trajectory for the lowest obstacle, was significantly greater than that required when walking on level ground (p < 0.02). Thus, conservation of energy was found to become a less dominant criterion for governing the motion of the body when crossing obstacles than when walking on level ground.