Gait and long cane kinematics: a comparison of sighted and visually impaired subjects

Although visually impaired individuals have used the long cane to increase mobility for many years, few empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of this tool. The purposes of this research were to determine if these cane procedures provide adequate protection for visually impaired individuals and to compare sighted and visually impaired gait mechanics. Seven sighted (four females, three males) and five visually impaired subjects (two females, three males) were videotaped at 60 Hz by two cameras situated at opposite 45 degrees angles to the subjects' frontal plane so that three-dimensional coordinates could be calculated via direct linear transformation. One-way analyses of variance were calculated on 17 variables to determine if there was a significant biomechanical difference between sighted and visually impaired gait at an adjusted alpha = .003. The results showed that for both groups the cane tip touched outside where the foot landed and that the only variable significantly different between the two groups was resultant cane velocity. The major conclusion of this research was that present cane techniques may not provide adequate protection for visually impaired individuals since the purpose of mobility training is to have the person touch the ground with the cane tip at the foot contact positions.