Gait characteristics of healthy individuals while walking on hard and soft surfaces with different levels of thickness
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Abstract
Background: Soft surfaces provide unstable areas that challenge walking ability. However, no existing evidence reported the effects of soft surfaces and level of thickness affecting walking characteristics.
Objectives: Investigated walking characteristics of 16 healthy subjects while walking on soft surfaces with 1inch and 3inches thickness as compared to a hard surface.
Methods: Subjects (average age 26±2.85years) were assessed for their walking speed, cadence, stride length and step symmetry while walking over each surface at a self-selected and fastest speed for 3 trials/surface. During walking, the researchers recorded walking characteristics of the subjects for further two-dimensional analysis using the Kinovea program. Then the ANOVA with repeated measure was used to compare average findings of all parameters while walking on each surface. The levels of significant differences was set at p<0.05.
Results: Subjects walked on soft surface with a significantly slower speed and cadence than on a hard surface both preferred and fastest speed (walking speed = 1.12-1.35m/s and 1.34-1.74m/s, cadence = 96-110 steps/min and 120-139 steps/min for soft and hard surfaces when walked at a prefer and fastest speed, respectively, p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences of other variables, and between 1inch and 3inches thickness soft surfaces (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Walking on soft surfaces challenge walking ability, especially in temporal parameters. However, a soft surface with 1inch thickness may be more suitable for clinical application than the 3inches thickness because it is lighter, cheaper and easier to be moved and storage than 3inches thickness soft surface. However, the findings are preliminary data in healthy subjects. Thus, a further study should investigate in subjects with movement impairments to confirm the application of soft surfaces in clinical rehabilitation.
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References
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