Gait signature changes with walking speed are similar among able-bodied young adults despite persistent individual-specific differences
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Winner T
PROVIDER: S-EPMC11345452 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:BACKGROUND:People aging with HIV are living with increased risk for functional decline compared with uninfected adults of the same age. Early preclinical changes in biomarkers in middle-aged individuals at risk for mobility and functional decline are needed. OBJECTIVE:This pilot study aims to compare measures of free-living activity with lab-based measures. In addition, we aim to examine differences in the activity level and patterns by HIV status. METHODS:Forty-six men (23 HIV+, 23 HIV-) currently in the MATCH (Muscle and Aging Treated Chronic HIV) cohort study wore a consumer-grade wristband accelerometer continuously for 3 weeks. We used free-living activity to calculate the gait speed and time spent at different activity intensities. Accelerometer data were compared with lab-based gait speed using the 6-minute walk test (6-MWT). Plasma biomarkers were measured and biobehavioral questionnaires were administered. RESULTS:HIV+ men more often lived alone (P=.02), reported more pain (P=.02), and fatigue (P=.048). In addition, HIV+ men had lower blood CD4/CD8 ratios (P<.001) and higher Veterans Aging Cohort Study Index scores (P=.04) and T-cell activation (P<.001) but did not differ in levels of inflammation (P=.30) or testosterone (P=.83). For all participants, accelerometer-based gait speed was significantly lower than the lab-based 6-MWT gait speed (P<.001). Moreover, accelerometer-based gait speed was significantly lower in HIV+ participants (P=.04) despite the absence of differences in the lab-based 6-MWT (P=.39). HIV+ participants spent more time in the lowest quartile of activity compared with uninfected (P=.01), who spent more time in the middle quartiles of activity (P=.02). CONCLUSIONS:Accelerometer-based assessment of gait speed and activity patterns are lower for asymptomatic men living with HIV compared with uninfected controls and may be useful as preclinical digital biomarkers that precede differences captured in lab-based measures.
| S-EPMC6376331 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Gait speed does not adequately predict whether stroke survivors will be active in the community. This may be because traditional single-task gait speed does not sufficiently reproduce the demands of walking in the real world. This study assessed whether dual-task gait speed accounts for variance in daily ambulatory activity above what can be predicted with habitual (single task) gait speed in community-dwelling stroke survivors. METHODS:Twenty-eight community-dwelling individuals, 58.2 years of age (SD=16.6), 8.9 months poststroke (interquartile range, 3.7-19.4), completed a gait and cognitive task in single- and dual-task conditions. Daily ambulatory activity was captured using a physical activity monitor. A regression analysis examined R2 changes with single- and dual-task gait speed. RESULTS:Single-task gait speed explained 15.3% of the variance in daily ambulatory activity (P=0.04). Adding dual-task gait speed to the regression model increased the variance explained by an additional 20.6% (P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS:Gait speed assessed under attention-demanding conditions may improve explanation of variance in daily ambulatory activity after stroke.
| S-EPMC6034633 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The focus of this study was to examine the role of walking velocity in stability during normal gait. Local dynamic stability was quantified through the use of maximum finite-time Lyapunov exponents, lambda(Max). These quantify the rate of attenuation of kinematic variability of joint angle data recorded as subjects walked on a motorized treadmill at 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of the Froude velocity. A monotonic trend between lambda(Max) and walking velocity was observed with smaller lambda(Max) at slower walking velocities. Smaller lambda(Max) indicates more stable walking dynamics. This trend was evident whether stride duration variability remained or was removed by time normalizing the data. This suggests that slower walking velocities lead to increases in stability. These results may reveal more detailed information on the behavior of the neuro-controller than variability-based analyses alone.
| S-EPMC1785331 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Biofeedback systems have been extensively used in walking exercises for gait improvement. Past research has focused on modulating the wearer's cadence, gait variability, or symmetry, but none of the previous works has addressed the problem of inducing a desired walking speed in the wearer. In this paper, we present a new, minimally obtrusive wearable biofeedback system (WBS) that uses closed-loop vibrotactile control to elicit desired changes in the wearer's walking speed, based on the predicted user response to anticipatory and delayed feedback. The performance of the proposed control was compared to conventional open-loop rhythmic vibrotactile stimulation with N = 10 healthy individuals who were asked to complete a set of walking tasks along an oval path. The closed-loop vibrotactile control consistently demonstrated better performance than the open-loop control in inducing desired changes in the wearer's walking speed, both with constant and with time-varying target walking speeds. Neither open-loop nor closed-loop stimuli affected natural gait significantly, when the target walking speed was set to the individual's preferred walking speed. Given the importance of walking speed as a summary indicator of health and physical performance, the closed-loop vibrotactile control can pave the way for new technology-enhanced protocols for gait rehabilitation.
| S-EPMC7412458 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Gait biofeedback is a well-studied strategy to reduce gait impairments such as propulsion deficits or asymmetric step lengths. With biofeedback, participants alter their walking to reach the desired magnitude of a specific parameter (the biofeedback target) with each step. Biofeedback of anterior ground reaction force and step length is commonly used in post-stroke gait training as these variables are associated with self-selected gait speed, fall risk, and the energy cost of walking. However, biofeedback targets are often set as a function of an individual's baseline walking pattern, which may not reflect the ideal magnitude of that gait parameter. Here we developed prediction models based on speed, leg length, mass, sex, and age to predict anterior ground reaction force and step length of neurotypical adults as a possible method for personalized biofeedback. Prediction of these values on an independent dataset demonstrated strong agreement with actual values, indicating that neurotypical anterior ground reaction forces can be estimated from an individual's leg length, mass, and gait speed, and step lengths can be estimated from individual's leg length, mass, age, sex, and gait speed. Unlike approaches that rely on an individual's baseline gait, this approach provides a standardized method to personalize gait biofeedback targets based on the walking patterns exhibited by neurotypical individuals with similar characteristics walking at similar speeds without the risk of over- or underestimating the ideal values that could limit feedback-mediated reductions in gait impairments.
| S-EPMC10195830 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTurning during walking and volitionally modulating walking speed introduces complexity to gait and has been minimally explored.Research questionHow do the spatiotemporal parameters vary between young adults walking at a normal speed and a slower speed while making 90°, 180°, and 360° turns?MethodsIn a laboratory setting, the spatiotemporal parameters of 10 young adults were documented as they made turns at 90°, 180°, and 360°. A generalized linear model was utilized to determine the effect of both walking speed and turning amplitude.ResultsYoung adults volitionally reducing their walking speed while turning at different turning amplitudes significantly decreased their cadence and spatial parameters while increasing their temporal parameters. In conditions of slower movement, the variability of certain spatial parameters decreased, while the variability of some temporal parameters increased.SignificanceThis research broadens the understanding of turning biomechanics in relation to volitionally reducing walking speed. Cadence might be a pace gait constant synchronizing the rhythmic integration of several inputs to coordinate an ordered gait pattern output. Volition might up-regulate or down-regulate this pace gait constant (i.e., cadence) which creates the feeling of modulating walking speed.
| S-EPMC10959554 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundInclined walking is a challenging task that requires active neuromuscular control to maintain stability. However, the adaptive strategies that preserve stability during inclined walking are not well understood. Investigating the effects of self-paced inclined treadmill walking on gait stability characteristics and the activation patterns of key lower limb muscles can provide insights into these strategies.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of self-paced inclined treadmill walking on gait stability characteristics and the activation of key lower limb muscles.MethodsTwenty-eight able-bodied individuals (mean age 25.02, SD 2.06 years) walked on an augmented instrumented treadmill for 3 minutes at 3 inclination angles (-8°, 0°, and 8°) at their preferred walking speed. Changes in gait characteristics (ie, stability, walking speed, spatial-temporal, kinematic, and muscle forces) across inclination angles were assessed using a repeated measures ANOVA and the Friedman test.ResultsThe study revealed that inclined treadmill walking has a significant impact on gait characteristics (P<.001). Changes were observed in spatial-temporal parameters, joint angles, and muscle activations depending on the treadmill inclination. Specifically, stability and walking speed decreased significantly during uphill walking, indicating that it was the most challenging walking condition. Uphill walking also led to a decrease in spatial parameters by at least 13.53% and a 5.26% to 10.96% increase in temporal parameters. Furthermore, joint kinematics and peak activation of several muscles, including the hamstrings (biceps femoris, long head=109.5%, biceps femoris, short head=53.3%, semimembranosus=98.9%, semitendinosus=90.9%), gastrocnemius (medial gastrocnemius=40.6%, lateral gastrocnemius=35.3%), and vastii muscles (vastus intermedius=12.8%, vastus lateralis=16.7%) increased significantly during uphill walking. In contrast, downhill walking resulted in bilateral reductions in spatial-temporal gait parameters, with knee flexion increasing and hip flexion and ankle dorsiflexion decreasing. The peak activation of antagonist muscles, such as the quadriceps, tibialis anterior, and tibialis posterior, significantly increased during downhill walking (rectus femoris=97.7%, vastus lateralis =70.6%, vastus intermedius=68.7%, tibialis anterior=72%, tibialis posterior=107.1%).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate that able-bodied individuals adopt specific walking patterns during inclined treadmill walking to maintain a comfortable and safe walking performance. The results suggest that inclined treadmill walking has the potential to serve as a functional assessment and rehabilitation tool for gait stability by targeting muscle training. Future research should investigate the effects of inclined treadmill walking on individuals with gait impairments and the potential benefits of targeted muscle training. A better understanding of the adaptive strategies used during inclined walking may lead to the development of more effective rehabilitation interventions for individuals with lower limb injuries.
| S-EPMC10280335 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The biological mechanisms underlying decline in physical function with age remain unclear. We examined the plasma proteomic profile associated with longitudinal changes in physical function measured by gait speed and grip strength in community-dwelling adults. We applied an aptamer-based platform to assay 1154 plasma proteins on 2854 participants (60% women, aged 76 years) in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) in 1992-1993 and 1130 participants (55% women, aged 54 years) in the Framingham Offspring Study (FOS) in 1991-1995. Gait speed and grip strength were measured annually for 7 years in CHS and at cycles 7 (1998-2001) and 8 (2005-2008) in FOS. The associations of individual protein levels (log-transformed and standardized) with longitudinal changes in gait speed and grip strength in two populations were examined separately by linear mixed-effects models. Meta-analyses were implemented using random-effects models and corrected for multiple testing. We found that plasma levels of 14 and 18 proteins were associated with changes in gait speed and grip strength, respectively (corrected p < 0.05). The proteins most strongly associated with gait speed decline were GDF-15 (Meta-analytic p = 1.58 × 10-15 ), pleiotrophin (1.23 × 10-9 ), and TIMP-1 (5.97 × 10-8 ). For grip strength decline, the strongest associations were for carbonic anhydrase III (1.09 × 10-7 ), CDON (2.38 × 10-7 ), and SMOC1 (7.47 × 10-7 ). Several statistically significant proteins are involved in the inflammatory responses or antagonism of activin by follistatin pathway. These novel proteomic biomarkers and pathways should be further explored as future mechanisms and targets for age-related functional decline.
| S-EPMC9741503 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTreadmills provide a safe and convenient way to study the gait of people with Parkinson's disease (PD), but outcome measures derived from treadmill gait may differ from overground walking.ObjectiveTo investigate how the relationships between gait metrics and walking speed vary between overground and treadmill walking in people with PD and healthy controls.MethodsWe compared 29 healthy controls to 27 people with PD in the OFF-medication state. Subjects first walked overground on an instrumented gait walkway, then on an instrumented treadmill at 85%, 100% and 115% of their overground walking speed. Average stride length and cadence were computed for each subject in both overground and treadmill walking.ResultsStride length and cadence both differed between overground and treadmill walking. Regressions of stride length and cadence on gait speed showed a log-log relationship for both overground and treadmill gait in both PD and control groups. The difference between the PD and control groups during overground gait was maintained for treadmill gait, not only when treadmill speed matched overground speed, but also with ± 15% variation in treadmill speed from that value.SignificanceThese results show that the impact of PD on stride length and cadence and their relationship to gait speed is preserved in treadmill as compared to overground walking. We conclude that a treadmill protocol is suitable for laboratory use in studies of PD gait therapeutics.
| S-EPMC8930449 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background & aimsSlow gait speed during Walking While Talking (walking while reciting alternate letters of the alphabet; WWT) is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia and falls. The aim of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in WWT-speed and to identify risk factors that may modify the rate of change in WWT-speed.MethodsA total of 431 older participants (55.7% female; M Age=76.8 ± 6.4 years; mean follow up 2.1 ± 1.8 years) enrolled in the Central Control of Mobility in Aging study were examined. WWT-speed (cm/s) was measured with a computerized walkway. The following baseline measures were examined as risk factors: demographics [age, sex, education], medical illnesses [hypertension, diabetes, cardiac arrhythmias, history of stroke, Parkinson's disease, kidney disease, arthritis], cognitive functions [global cognition, executive function, processing speed], physical and sensory functions [unipedal stance time, gait speed during single task walking, visual acuity], psychological variables [depression, anxiety] and falls. Linear mixed effect models were used to examine 1) change in WWT-speed over time, and 2) risk factors associated with change in WWT-speed over time.ResultsWWT-speed declined in an accelerating non-linear fashion over time after adjusting for baseline age, sex and education. The rate of decline in WWT-speed was modified by older age (b -0.16 95%CI -0.22, -0.09), poorer balance (b -1.73 95%CI -2.57, -0.90), and faster gait speed during single task walking (b -0.06 95%CI -0.08, -0.04).SignificanceThis study identified fixed and modifiable risk factors of faster decline in WWT-speed over time in community-residing older adults.
| S-EPMC9894014 | biostudies-literature