Economical and preferred walking speed using body weight support apparatus with a spring-like characteristics

Abe, Daijiro; Sakata, Shunsuke; Motoyama, Kiyotaka; Toyota, Naoki; Nishizono, Hidetsugu; Horiuchi, Masahiro

doi:10.1186/s13102-021-00336-7

“…Among young adults, the fact that gait is so automatized could partly explain why most participants show little spontaneous response to the stimulus change, even though they are capable of synchronizing to the stimulus, if instructed. Gait, one of the most practiced and important movements allowing one to move independently and autonomously (Kuys et al, 2014; Li et al, 2019; Middleton et al, 2015), is highly automatized and energetically cost-efficient, especially when the walking pace is within the range of our individual spontaneous cadence (Abe et al, 2021; Das Gupta et al, 2021; Martin et al, 1992; Srinivasan, 2009). In spite of its stability, we see significant inter-individual differences in the way healthy young adults adapt their cadence in response to an external rhythmic audio stimulus, no matter the instruction (Leow et al, 2021; Ready et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ramp protocol: Uncovering individual differences in walking to an auditory beat using TeensyStep

Zagala,

Foster,

van Vugt

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Intentionally walking to the beat of an auditory stimulus seems effortless for most humans. However, recent studies revealed significant individual differences in the spontaneous tendency to synchronize to the beat. Some individuals tend to adapt their walking pace to the beat while others show little or no adjustment. However, to date, there is no protocol sensitive to individual differences in adapting to rhythmic stimuli while walking that can experimentally validate this phenomenon. To fill this gap, we introduce the Ramp protocol assessing spontaneous adaptation to a change in an auditory rhythmic stimulus in a gait task. First, participants start to walk at their preferred cadence without stimulation. After several steps, a metronome is presented, timed to match the rhythm of the participant's heel strike. Then, the metronome tempo progressively departs from the participant's cadence by either accelerating or decelerating. The implementation of the Ramp protocol required real-time detection of heel strike and auditory stimuli aligned with participants' preferred cadence. To achieve this, we developed the TeensyStep device, which we validated compared to a gold standard for step detection. We also demonstrated the sensitivity of the Ramp protocol to individual differences in the spontaneous response to a tempo changing rhythmic stimulus by introducing a new measure: the Response Score. In sum, this new method and quantification of spontaneous response to rhythmic stimuli holds promise for highlighting and distinguishing different profiles of adaptation to an external rhythmic stimulus in a gait task.

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“…where the coe cients a, b, and c are determined by the least squares methods. The m-ES, at which the Ushaped C w -s relationship becomes minimal, can be obtained when C w ' (s) is zero [1][2][3]. Thus, the m-ES was calculated by a following equation:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 Center for Health and Sports Science, Kyushu Sangyo University, 2-3-1 Matsukadai, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 813-8503, Japan. 3 CNP Design, 4-1-5 Shimobaru, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 813-0002, Japan.…”

Section: Declarations Author Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The energy cost of walking per unit distance (C w ; J•kg − 1 •m − 1 ) presents as a U-shaped curve as a function of walking speed (s; m•s − 1 ) [1][2][3]. This indicates that every individual has a speci c walking speed minimizing the C w [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], referred to as economical speed (ES) [1][2][3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The energy cost of walking per unit distance (C w ; J•kg − 1 •m − 1 ) presents as a U-shaped curve as a function of walking speed (s; m•s − 1 ) [1][2][3]. This indicates that every individual has a speci c walking speed minimizing the C w [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], referred to as economical speed (ES) [1][2][3]. A biological importance of the ES is that it is well associated with the preferred walking speed (PWS) [13] in healthy populations [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Normalized economical speed is influenced by aging and not by exercise habituation

Horiuchi

¹

,

Saito

²

,

Motoyama

³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Objective: A U-shaped relationship between energy cost of walking (Cw; J·kg-1·m-1) and walking speed indicates that there is a specific speed minimizing the Cw, called economical speed (ES). It is mostly slower in older adults than young adults; however, effects of leg length on the ES have been ignored. We investigated the effects of aging and exercise habituation on the normalized ES by the leg length (nor-ES). Moreover, the diversity in the stride length (SL) and step frequency (SF) against sinusoidal speed change (SSC) at 30-s and 180-s periods with ±0.56 m･s-1 among sedentary young (SY), active young (AY), and active elderly (AE) adults was also quantified. Results: The ES was significantly faster in the following sequence: AY, SY, and AE, whereas nor-ES was faster in the AY and SY than in the AE (no difference was found between AY and SY). Delayed SL and preceding SF were observed at the 180-s SSC in the young adults only. Collectively, greater delay and/or precedence of SL-SF combinations against SSC may reflect locomotive flexibility for passive speed change during walking. The nor-ES was slowed by aging; however, it was not influenced by exercise habituation, at least, in young populations.

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Alterations in step frequency and muscle activities using body weight support influence the ventilatory response to sinusoidal walking in humans

Fujita,

Kamibayashi,

Horiuchi

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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The use of body weight support (BWS) can reveal important insights into the relationship between lower-limb muscle activities and the ventilatory response during sinusoidal walking. Here, healthy participants (n = 15) walked on a treadmill while 0%, 30%, and 50% of their body weight was supported with BWS. The walking speed was varied sinusoidally between 3 and 6 km h−1, and three different frequencies, and periods ranging from 2 to 10 min were used. Breath-by-breath ventilation ($${\dot{\text{V}}}_{{\text{E}}}$$ V ˙ E ) and CO2 output ($${\dot{\text{V}}}\text{CO}_{{2}}$$ V ˙ CO 2 ) were measured. The tibialis anterior (TA) muscle activity was measured by electromyography throughout the walking. The amplitude (Amp), normalized Amp [Amp ratio (%)], and phase shift (PS) of the sinusoidal variations in measurement variables were calculated using a Fourier analysis. The results revealed that the Amp ratio in $${\dot{\text{V}}}_{{\text{E}}}$$ V ˙ E increased with the increase in BWS. A steeper slope of the $${\dot{\text{V}}}_{{\text{E}}}$$ V ˙ E –$${\dot{\text{V}}}\text{CO}_{{2}}$$ V ˙ CO 2 relationship and greater $${\dot{\text{V}}}_{{\text{E}}}$$ V ˙ E /$${\dot{\text{V}}}\text{CO}_{{2}}$$ V ˙ CO 2 values were observed under reduced body weight conditions. The Amp ratio in TA muscle was significantly positively associated with the Amp ratio in the $${\dot{\text{V}}}_{{\text{E}}}$$ V ˙ E (p < 0.001). These findings indicate that the greater amplitude in the TA muscle under BWS may have been a potent stimulus for the greater response of ventilation during sinusoidal walking.

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Economical and preferred walking speed using body weight support apparatus with a spring-like characteristics

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

The Ramp protocol: Uncovering individual differences in walking to an auditory beat using TeensyStep

The Ramp protocol: Uncovering individual differences in walking to an auditory beat using TeensyStep

Normalized economical speed is influenced by aging and not by exercise habituation

Alterations in step frequency and muscle activities using body weight support influence the ventilatory response to sinusoidal walking in humans

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