Do different muscle strength levels affect stability during unplanned gait termination?

Abstract

Unplanned gait termination (UGT) widely occurs in various sports and daily life as a kind of stress response to unexpected stimulus. However, the body stability may be greatly affected when the body completely stops. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between muscle strength levels and body stability during UGT through comparing the plantar pressure. Methods: Twenty healthy participants (10 male and 10 female) with different lower limbs muscle strength and power were asked to perform planned gait termination (PGT) and unplanned gait termination (UGT) on an 8-m walkway. Related plantar pressure data including maximum pressure, maximum force, contact area and center of pressure were recorded with Footscan pressure platform. Results: Two types of gait termination have significant differences in the plantar pressure distribution. Maximum pressure and maximum force in the lateral metatarsal increased significantly during UGT, compared to PGT. At the same time, data from the current study suggested that there might be a correlation between the muscle strength levels of individual and the stability during the gait termination, especially between the muscle power and UGT, which means that the more excellent muscle power an individual has, the more stable the body is when UGT is performed. Conclusions: The findings suggest that different muscle strength levels could affect stability during unplanned gait termination.

The Effect of High-Intensity Intermittent Training on the Acute Gait Plantar Pressure in Healthy Young Adults

“…High frequency digital sampling technique was used to measure dynamic plantar pressure data. Peak pressure, peak force and contact area were calculated to assess the variability of plantar pressure distribution before training and after two types of training experiments [14]. The balance of foot was considered by comparing the force of the medial part of the foot (M1+ M2 + MH) with the lateral part of the foot (M3 + M4+ M5 + LH).…”

Lower-Limb Biomechanical Characteristics Associated with Unplanned Gait Termination Under Different Walking Speeds

“…In this study, although the plantar pressure in the lateral metatarsals also increased, there was no significant difference between speeds. The imbalance between the medial-lateral plantar pressure may lead to a decrease in medial-lateral stability during UGT 7 . Excessive peak pressures in heel may increase the risk of foot injuries, such as stress fractures 23,24 .…”

“…When confronted by an unexpected stimulus that requires one to stop suddenly, initial dynamic balance will be disrupted. Because of the need for the continuous control of the body's center of mass (COM) and feedback control, UGT poses a greater challenge to postural control and stablity 3,7 . UGT has been reported to be an important factor leading to falls and injuries, especially in elderly people and patients with balance disorders 3,8 .…”

“…For example, Serrao et al 17 used lower-limb kinematic data to detect the clinical differences between patients with cerebellar ataxia and healthy counterparts during sudden stopping. Besides, compared to planned gait termination (PGT), larger peak pressure and force in the lateral metatarsal during UGT could be observed 7 , which may be associated with higher injury risks. Therefore, exploring the biomechanical mechanisms of UGT could provide insights for injury prevention and further clinical researches.…”

Sitting-walking Derived from Tai Chi Gait: A Fundamental Improvement to Fall Prevention in Older Adults (Part 2)—Advantages of Sitting-walking

“…Mechanically, two coupled braking mechanisms are required at PGT: 1) reducing foot propulsion during the penultimate step and 2) increasing braking force during the terminating step [39]. When people are forced to undergo UGT, the urgency of spontaneous activation of dynamic stability increases [56]. Therefore, compared to PGT, the human body needs to increase braking force and decrease thrust for a short period to generate sufficient net braking pulses during UGT [57].…”