Relationship between Dimensionless Leg Stiffness and Kinetic Variables during Gait Performance, and its Modulation with Body Weight

Leg and lower limb dynamic joint stiffness during different walking speeds in healthy adults

“…The maximum change in vertical leg length (∆L) was calculated using the change in vertical leg length between initial contact and maximum displacement of the center of mass, and half of the sweep angle of the leg spring between these events, equations (2,3).…”

“…Leg stiffness may be described as linear stiffness, the change of elastic deformation, or the change of force divided by the elongation [Leg stiffness=∆F/∆x]. Whereas joint stiffness may be defined as the change in moment divided by the change in angle [joint stiffness =∆M/∆θ] [2], or defined as the ratio of maximal joint moment to maximum joint flexion angle [3][4][5].…”

“…Leg stiffness has been reported as the most suitable measure for evaluating the dynamic characteristics of the whole lower limb during walking or running [3,6,7]. However, joint stiffness has been linked to musculotendinous stiffness, which can be considered as passive or active [8].…”

“…Several studies have investigated ankle joint stiffness during normal walking [2,16,17,[21][22][23], hip joint stiffness during normal walking [24], and leg stiffness during normal walking [3]. In addition, a few studies have investigated hip stiffness [25], knee stiffness [25,26], ankle stiffness [25], and leg stiffness [27] during different walking speeds.…”

Relationship between Leg Stiffness and Kinematic Variables According to the Load while Running

“…Running position and backpack type Figure 3. Leg length was estimated by calculating the distance from the center of pressure to the center of the pelvis (Delp et al, 1990;Hyun & Ryew, 2016;Silder et al, 2015) KJSB Korean Journal of Sport Biomechanics coefficients. All statistical levels of significance were set at α = .05.…”