Correlation between Postural Stability and Lower Extremity Joint Reaction Forces in Young Adults during Incline and Decline Walking

Abstract

Postural stability may be affected during slope walking, as there are different body kinetics and kinematic responses compared with level walking. Understanding body adaptations toward different inclinations is essential to prevent the risk of injury from falls or slips. This study was conducted to determine the correlations between stability parameters and loading response in terms of joint reaction force at the lower-extremity joints during inclined and declined walking. Twenty male subjects walked in the level, incline, and decline directions on a custom-built platform at three different slope angles (i.e., 5°, 7.5°, and 10°). To determine the ground reaction force (GRF), joint reaction force (JRF), center of pressure (COP), and center of mass (COM), a motion capture system was used to read the data of the ten reflective markers and transfer them to visual three-dimensional (3D) software. Pearson’s correlation test was performed with statistical significance set at p < 0.05 to evaluate the correlation of the required coefficient of friction (RCOF), postural stability index (PSI), and COP-COM distance with the JRF. This study has identified that the JRF changes in opposition to the changes in the RCOF during the initial strike during incline and decline walking, as JRF increases, the RCOF decreases with different strengths of correlation. There is also a strong positive correlation between the PSI and JRF in the proximal–distal direction, where the JRFs change in accordance with the change in the PSI, and the JRF increases with the increment of PSI. In addition, the JRF of the lower extremity also changed in a manner similar to the COP-COM distance in the medial–lateral direction. Overall, each stability parameter was correlated with the JRF of the lower-extremity joints in different directions and strengths. This study demonstrated that slope walking is particularly affected by surface inclination in terms of stability and loading. Therefore, this research can serve as a basis for future studies on slopes, as there is no specific basis for a maximum degree of inclination that is safe and suitable for all applications.