Contribution of accelerated body masses to able-bodied gait.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to demonstrate that data from a video-based system could be used to estimate the net effect of the external forces during gait, to determine the contribution of the trunk and upper and lower limbs using their accelerated body masses, and to test the hypothesis that the thigh mainly assumed lower limb propulsion during able-bodied locomotion.

Methods: The gait of 16 able-bodied subjects was assessed using an eight-camera video-based system and two force plates. The right limb was the leading limb, and there were two trials per subject.