Placing the leading limb closer to an obstacle reduces collision of the trailing limb: an investigation in a virtual environment.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

When walking and stepping over an obstacle of a certain height, tripping occurs more frequently with the trailing limb than the leading limb. The present study was designed to address whether collisions involving the trailing limb can be improved with experimental manipulation of the placement of the leading limb after stepping over an obstacle. We used an immersive, virtual obstacle-crossing task to ensure that the collision was not improved simply due to the experience of physical collision with an obstacle.

Methods

Fourteen young participants (12 males and 2 females, 28.7 ± 3.5 years) were required to walk and step over a virtual horizontal pole under one of four conditions. In three conditions, participants were required to place their leading foot on a squa

SUBMITTER: Hakamata T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11349672 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature