Quantification of Coordination Variability During Gait in Fallers and Non-fallers Older Adults at Different Speeds

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze segments coordination and coordination variability during gait of fallers and non-fallers older adults at different speeds (preferred walking speed (PWS), 120% of PWS and 80% of PWS) through vector coding technique (VC). Thirty-one young adults, 22 non-fallers and 17 fallers older adults participated in the study. All participants practice exercise regularly at least three times a week. They performed a protocol of three 1-min walking on a treadmill at each speed for data collection, in a randomized order. For thigh-leg segments pair, angles were computed during four gait phases (first double support, single support, second double support and swing phase). Data was exported and analyzed with a custom MatLab code (R2018a, MathWorks, Natick, MA). There were significant differences in thigh-leg segments pair coordination pattern, with the greatest differences observed at 80% and 120% PWS for all groups, with emphasis on the older adults groups.