Comprehensive quantitative investigation of arm swing during walking at various speed and surface slope conditions

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that inclusion of arm swing in gait rehabilitation leads to more effective walking recovery in patients with walking impairments. However, little is known about the correct arm-swing trajectories to be used in gait rehabilitation given the fact that changes in walking conditions affect arm-swing patterns. In this paper we present a comprehensive look at the effects of a variety of conditions on arm-swing patterns during walking. The results describe the effects of surface slope, walking speed, and physical characteristics on arm-swing patterns in healthy individuals. We propose data-driven mathematical models to describe arm-swing trajectories. Thirty individuals (fifteen females and fifteen males) with a wide range of height (1.58-1.91m) and body mass (49-98kg), participated in our study. Based on their self-selected walking speed, each participant performed walking trials with four speeds on five surface slopes while their whole-body kinematics were recorded. Statistical analysis showed that walking speed, surface slope, and height were the major factors influencing arm swing during locomotion. The results demonstrate that data-driven models can successfully describe arm-swing trajectories for normal gait under varying walking conditions. The findings also provide insight into the behavior of the elbow during walking.

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“…We assume this to be due to higher speed of walking, which was 6.2±0.3 km.h -1 . This fact is in accordance with the study conducted by Hejrati, Chesebrough, Foreman, Abbott, and Merryweather (2016), who confirmed the increase in range of motion with increasing walking speed.…”

Imposed Faster and Slower Walking Speeds Influence Gait Stability Differently in Parkinson Fallers

“…arm swing, base of support). Although there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the size of one's base of support is not significantly influenced by their walking speed [79][80][81] , research has consistently reported a relationship between arm swing and walking speed in healthy younger 82 and older adults 83 . While it remains unclear whether arm swing directly influences walking stability 84 or whether it serves to recover a stable walking pattern following a perturbation 85 , it is important to acknowledge that differences in arm swing between the groups may have potentially impacted the reported outcomes.…”

Whole body kinematic sex differences persist across non-dimensional gait speeds

“…Across multiple studies, only transverse plane pelvis/hip RoM [6,7,14,15] and sagittal plane ankle RoM [6,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] appear to show additional, consistent sex effects. There is also some limited evidence that transverse plane torso and arm swing may also differ between sexes during walking [6,22]. The underlying reasons for these sex differences are still not entirely clear, with hypotheses ranging from potentially modifiable socio-cultural influences to evolutionary factors and inherent structural dimorphism.…”