The ankle dorsiflexion kinetics demand to increase swing phase foot-ground clearance: implications for assistive device design and energy demands.

Background: The ankle is usually highly effective in modulating the swing foot's trajectory to ensure safe ground clearance but there are few reports of ankle kinetics and mechanical energy exchange during the gait cycle swing phase. Previous work has investigated ankle swing mechanics during normal walking but with developments in devices providing dorsiflexion assistance, it is now essential to understand the minimal kinetic requirements for increasing ankle dorsiflexion, particularly for devices employing energy harvesting or utilizing lighter and lower power energy sources or actuators.

Methods: Using a real-time treadmill-walking biofeedback technique, swing phase ankle dorsiflexion was experimentally controlled to increase foot-ground clearance by 4 cm achieved via increased ankle dorsiflexion.

Biomechanical Correlates of Falls Risk in Gait Impaired Stroke Survivors.

Increased falls risk is prevalent among stroke survivors with gait impairments. Tripping is the leading cause of falls and it is highly associated with mid-swing Minimum Foot Clearance (MFC), when the foot's vertical margin from the walking surface is minimal. The current study investigated MFC characteristics of post-stroke individuals ( = 40) and healthy senior controls ( = 21) during preferred speed treadmill walking, using an Optotrak 3D motion capture system to record foot-ground clearance.

A cross-sectional study of foot-ground clearance in healthy community dwelling Japanese cohorts aged 50, 60 and 70 years.

Background: Falls-related injuries are particularly serious for older people, causing pain, reduced community engagement and associated medical costs. Tripping is the leading cause of falls and the current study examined whether minimum ground clearance (MFC) of the swing foot, indicating high tripping risk, would be differentiated across cohorts of healthy 50-, 60- and 70-years old community residents in Japan.

Methods: A cross-sectional population comprising the three groups (50s, 60s and 70s) of 123 Konosu City residents consented to be recorded when walking on an unobstructed surface at preferred speed.

Effects of Visually Augmented Gait Training on Foot-Ground Clearance: An Intervention to Reduce Tripping-Related Falls.

Minimum toe clearance (MTC ∼10-30 mm) is a hazardous mid-swing gait event, characterized by high-foot velocity (∼4.60 m·s-1) and single-foot support. This experiment tested treadmill-based gait training effects on MTC.

General Mental Health Is Associated with Gait Asymmetry.

Wearable sensors are being applied to real-world motion monitoring and the focus of this work is assessing health status and wellbeing. An extensive literature has documented the effects on gait control of impaired physical health, but in this project, the aim was to determine whether emotional states associated with older people's mental health are also associated with walking mechanics. If confirmed, wearable sensors could be used to monitor affective responses.

Real-time foot clearance biofeedback to assist gait rehabilitation following stroke: a randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: The risk of falling is significantly higher in people with chronic stroke and it is, therefore, important to design interventions to improve mobility and decrease falls risk. Minimum toe clearance (MTC) is the key gait cycle event for predicting tripping-falls because it occurs mid-swing during the walking cycle where forward velocity of the foot is maximum. High forward velocity coupled with low MTC increases the probability of unanticipated foot-ground contacts.

Non-MTC gait cycles: An adaptive toe trajectory control strategy in older adults.

Minimum-toe-clearance (MTC) above the walking surface is a critical representation of toe-trajectory control due to its association with tripping risk. Not all gait cycles exhibit a clearly defined MTC within the swing phase but there have been few previous accounts of the biomechanical characteristics of non-MTC gait cycles. The present report investigated the within-subject non-MTC gait cycle characteristics of 15 older adults (mean 73.

Tone Entropy Analysis of Augmented Information Effects on Toe-Ground Clearance When Walking.

Minimum toe clearance (MTC) is an event approximately mid-swing in the walking cycle that is critical for preventing unintended foot contact with surface irregularities ("tripping"). Treadmill-based gait training for older adults was undertaken using real-time augmented information to increase foot-ground clearance at MTC (MTC height). Ten young (Y) (Age: 23±2 year) and ten older (O) (Age: 76±9 year) participants undertook 10 min preferred speed treadmill walking (baseline) followed by 20 min with MTC height information (training) and 10 min without augmented information (retention).

A machine learning approach to estimate Minimum Toe Clearance using Inertial Measurement Units.

Falls are the primary cause of accidental injuries (52%) and one of the leading causes of death in individuals aged 65 and above. More than 50% of falls in healthy older adults are due to tripping while walking. Minimum toe clearance (i.

Modelling knee flexion effects on joint power absorption and adduction moment.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis is commonly associated with ageing and long-term walking. In this study the effects of flexing motions on knee kinetics during stance were simulated. Extended knees do not facilitate efficient loading.

Minimum toe clearance events in divided attention treadmill walking in older and young adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Falls in older adults during walking frequently occur while performing a concurrent task; that is, dividing attention to respond to other demands in the environment. A particularly hazardous fall-related event is tripping due to toe-ground contact during the swing phase of the gait cycle. The aim of this experiment was to determine the effects of divided attention on tripping risk by investigating the gait cycle event Minimum Toe Clearance (MTC).

Can toe-ground footwear margin alter swing-foot ground clearance?

Falls are an important healthcare concern in the older population and tripping is the primary cause. Greater swing foot-ground clearance is functional for tripping prevention. Trips frequently occur due to the lowest part of the shoe contacting the walking surface.

Effects of walking-induced fatigue on gait function and tripping risks in older adults.

Background: Fatigue and ageing contribute to impaired control of walking and are linked to falls. In this project, fatigue was induced by maximum speed walking to examine fatigue effects on lower limb trajectory control and associated tripping risk and overall gait functions of older adults.

Methods: Eleven young (18-35 years) and eleven older adults (>65 years) conducted 5-minute preferred speed treadmill walking prior to and following 6-minute maximum fast walking.

Gait training with real-time augmented toe-ground clearance information decreases tripping risk in older adults and a person with chronic stroke.

Falls risk increases with ageing but is substantially higher in people with stroke. Tripping-related balance loss is the primary cause of falls, and Minimum Toe Clearance (MTC) during walking is closely linked to tripping risk. The aim of this study was to determine whether real-time augmented information of toe-ground clearance at MTC can increase toe clearance, and reduce tripping risk.

Ageing effects on medio-lateral balance during walking with increased and decreased step width.

The current study used falls direction to categorize falls and explore age-related effects on the biomechanics of medio-lateral balance control. Minimum lateral margin (MLM) was defined as the critical swing phase event where the medio-lateral length between center of mass (CoM) and stance heel became minimum and accordingly, any lateral balance perturbation at MLM was considered to increase the risk of balance loss lateral to the stance foot. Lateral center of pressure (CoP) displacement from toe-off to MLM was also monitored to assess the risk of medio-lateral balance perturbation.

Computation method for available response time due to tripping at minimum foot clearance.

Falls prevention is important for older individuals to maintain healthy lifestyles and is an essential challenge in sustaining the socioeconomic structure of many advanced nations. Tripping has been recognized as the largest cause of falls and accordingly, understanding tripping-induced anterior balance loss is necessary in reducing the overall frequency of falls among older adults. Hazardous anterior balance loss due to tripping can be attributed to the mid-swing phase event, minimum foot clearance (MFC).

Biomechanical characteristics of slipping during unconstrained walking, turning, gait initiation and termination.

Unlabelled: Slipping biomechanics was investigated on both non-contaminated and oil-contaminated surfaces during unconstrained straight-line walking ('walking'), turning, gait initiation and termination. In walking, backward slipping was more frequent, whereas forward slipping was more frequent when turning. Stopping and gait initiation engendered only forward and backward slipping, respectively.

Biofeedback training effects on minimum toe clearance variability during treadmill walking.

A number of variability analysis techniques, including Poincaré plots and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) were used to investigate minimum toe clearance (MTC) control during walking. Ten young adults walked on a treadmill for 10 min at preferred speed in three conditions: (i) no-intervention baseline, (ii) with biofeedback of MTC within a target range, and (iii) no-biofeedback retention. Mean, median, standard deviation (SD), and inter quartile range of MTC during biofeedback (45.

Ageing and limb dominance effects on foot-ground clearance during treadmill and overground walking.

Background: Foot-ground clearance during the gait cycle swing phase is a critical locomotor adaptation to uneven terrain and non-optimal lower limb control has been linked to tripping and falling. The aim of this research was to determine ageing effects on bilateral foot-ground clearance during overground and treadmill walking.

Methods: Ageing and walking surface effects on bilateral foot trajectory control were investigated in 11 older (mean age 73.

Controlling swing foot center of mass and toe trajectory to minimize tripping risk.

Swing toe trajectory has been investigated due to its association with tripping-induced falls. This study investigated how motion of the entire foot segment influences the toe trajectory. Seven young and seven older participants walked both over-ground and on a treadmill to obtain the swing foot trajectory data.

Variability in the foot-ground clearance and step timing of young and older men during single-task and dual-task treadmill walking.

The study's aim was to document ageing effects on gait control by analysing the distributions of both left and right step timing and minimum foot-ground clearance (MFC) in older men (mean 71.1 years) and gender-matched controls (mean 26.3 years).

Metabolic and attentional energy costs of interlimb coordination.

The authors investigated metabolic and attentional energy costs as participants (N = 6) practiced in-phase, antiphase, and 90 degrees -phase cycling (order counterbalanced) on independent bicycle ergometers, with resistance (40 W/ergometer) and frequency (40 rpm) held constant. Coordination stabilized and became more accurate for all 3 cycling modes, as shown by measures of relative phase, but that collective variable could not account for other relevant attributes of the multifaceted motor behavior observed across the 3 coordination modes. In-phase and antiphase cycling were similar in stability and accuracy, but antiphase had the lowest metabolic and attentional energy costs.

Description of joint movements in human and non-human primate locomotion using Fourier analysis.

To describe and help interpret joint movements in various forms of primate locomotion, we explored the use of Fourier analysis to represent changing joint angles as a series of sine and cosine curves added together to approximate the raw angular data. Results are presented for four joints (shoulder, elbow, hip and knee) with emphasis on the shoulder, and for five types of locomotion (catarhine primate quadrupedal walking, human hands-and-feet creeping and hands-and-knees creeping, and human walking and running). Fourier analysis facilitates functional interpretation of the angles of all four joints, by providing average joint angles and an indication of the number of peaks and troughs in the angular data.