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The purpose of our study was to describe and compare free-speed gait patterns of healthy young women with healthy elderly women. The evaluation was completed with high-speed cinematography using synchronized front and side views of 26 healthy volunteers. One group was composed of 13 subjects 20 to 35 years of age, and the other group was composed of 13 subjects 60 to 84 years of age. Each subject participated in one test session consisting of three filmed trials of free-speed ambulation down a 14-m walkway. The processed film was analyzed for 10 gait characteristics. Differences in gait characteristics between the two groups were examined using a correlated t test (p less than .01). The elderly women demonstrated significantly smaller values of step length, stride length, ankle range of motion, pelvic obliquity, and velocity when compared with the younger women. The results of our study suggest that the physical therapist should not establish similar expectations for young women and elderly women during gait rehabilitation.

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by the frequent association of disease outside the lung. The objective of this study was to determine the presence of biomechanical gait abnormalities in COPD patients compared to healthy controls while well rested and without rest.MethodsPatients with COPD (N = 17) and aged-matched, healthy controls (N = 21) walked at their self-selected pace down a 10-meter walkway while biomechanical gait variables were collected. A one-minute rest was given between each of the five collected trials to prevent tiredness (REST condition). Patients with COPD then walked at a self-selected pace on a treadmill until the onset of self-reported breathlessness or leg tiredness. Subjects immediately underwent gait analysis with no rest between each of the five collected trials (NO REST condition). Statistical models with and without covariates age, gender, and smoking history were used.ResultsAfter adjusting for covariates, COPD patients demonstrated more ankle power absorption in mid-stance (P = 0.006) than controls during both conditions. Both groups during NO REST demonstrated increased gait speed (P = 0.04), stride length (P = 0.03), and peak hip flexion (P = 0.04) with decreased plantarflexion moment (P = 0.04) and increased knee power absorption (P = 0.04) as compared to REST. A significant interaction revealed that peak ankle dorsiflexion moment was maintained from REST to NO REST for COPD but increased for controls (P < 0.01). Stratifying by disease severity did not alter these findings, except that step width decreased in NO REST as compared to REST (P = 0.01). Standardized effect sizes of significant effects varied from 0.5 to 0.98.ConclusionsPatients with COPD appear to demonstrate biomechanical gait changes at the ankle as compared to healthy controls. This was seen not only in increased peak ankle power absorption during no rest but was also demonstrated by a lack of increase in peak ankle dorsiflexion moment from the REST to the NO REST condition as compared to the healthy controls. Furthermore, a wider step width has been associated with fall risk and this could account for the increased incidence of falls in patients with COPD.

Patients with COPD walk with increased duration of time between steps, and this timing is more variable than that of control subjects. They also walk with a narrower step width in which the variability of the step widths from step to step is decreased. Changes in these parameters have been related to increased risk of falling in aging research. This provides a mechanism that could explain the increased prevalence of falls in patients with COPD.

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the free-speed gait characteristics of healthy young men with those of healthy elderly men. Data collection consisted of high-speed cinematography resulting in synchronized front and side views of 24 healthy male volunteers, 12 between 20 and 32 years of age and 12 between 60 and 74 years of age. Young men were recruited to match the elderly men on the basis of right-leg length. Each subject participated in three filmed trials of free-speed ambulation down a 14-m walkway. The processed film was analyzed for eight gait characteristics. Differences in characteristics between the two groups were examined using a correlated t test (p less than .01). No significant differences were observed between the groups for step and stride length, velocity, ankle range of motion, vertical and horizontal excursions of the center of gravity, and pelvic obliquity; however, the younger men demonstrated a significantly larger stride width than the elderly men (p less than .01). The results suggest that the two populations of healthy adult men have similar gait characteristics.