Gender Differences in Intra Limb Coordination while Walking in Older People
Objectives: Knowledge about gender differences in intra-limb coordination during walking provides insight into the adaptability of central nervous system for controlling gait in older adults. We assessed the variability and phase dynamic of the intra-limb coordination in older men and women during w...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Negah Institute for Scientific Communication
2014-09-01
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| Series: | Iranian Rehabilitation Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-323-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 |
| Summary: | Objectives: Knowledge about gender differences in intra-limb coordination during walking provides insight into the adaptability of central nervous system for controlling gait in older adults. We assessed the variability and phase dynamic of the intra-limb coordination in older men and women during walking.
Methods: Twenty two older people, 11 female and 11 male, participated in this study. They were asked to perform walk on a treadmill at their preferred speed. Deviation phase and mean absolute relative phase values-indicators of variability and phase dynamic of intra-limb coordination, respectively-were calculated using the data collected by a motion capture system. We used independent sample t-test for statistical analysis.
Results: The results showed that women had a significant higher deviation phase in pelvis-thigh inter-segmental relationships on both sides. Additionally, the mean absolute relative phase of left pelvis-thigh, thigh-shank and shank-foot were significantly different between men and women.
Discussion: While women showed a lower mean absolute relative phase in pelvis-thigh, men had a lower mean absolute relative phase in shank-thigh inter-segmental relationships. We suggest that gender could affect the intra-limb coordination variability and phase dynamic during walking in older people. This may be a reflection of the great adaptability of neuromuscular system to modify control strategies for walking in older women/men. |
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| ISSN: | 1735-3602 1735-3610 |