Influences of Age and Experience with Stepping Activities on Gait Adaptation During a Complex Walking Task

Abstract

The human gait is a biomechanically and neuromechanically complex task that requires coordination of all limbs and their respective degrees of freedom. Humans frequently face perturbations in their gait or walking environment, and how they adapt to these circumstances can differ depending on a variety of factors. Here, we examine how age, gender, and experience with stepping and balancing activities affect adaptation parameters during a complex walking task. We used a split-belt treadmill to contrive a novel walking task where each foot was moving at a unique velocity to induce a repeated, predictable demand in the walking environment. We measured joint angles, step times, and forces for three experimental phases: baseline, adaptation, and washout. We compared adapted variables to baseline variables to determine how individuals adapted their gait, how much they adapted, and when they adapted. Our results suggest that 1) experience with stepping activities could predict the horizontal and vertical forces generated while adapting, 2) age-related changes in gait variables are mitigated by stepping activities, and 3) gender can be used as a predictor of adaptation techniques. In addition to these primary results, we also were able to conclude that shoe-mounted inertial measurement units are a viable option for gathering data on step times and yield comparable results to those gathered via force treadmill.