TY - JOUR PY - 2018// TI - Identifying trippers and non-trippers based on knee kinematics during obstacle-free walking JO - Human movement science A1 - Benson, Lauren C. A1 - Cobb, Stephen C. A1 - Hyngstrom, Allison S. A1 - Keenan, Kevin G. A1 - Luo, Jake A1 - O'Connor, Kristian M. SP - 58 EP - 66 VL - 62 IS - N2 - Trips are a major cause of falls. Sagittal-plane kinematics affect clearance between the foot and obstacles, however, it is unclear which kinematic measures during obstacle-free walking are associated with avoiding a trip when encountering an obstacle. The purpose of this study was to determine kinematic factors during obstacle-free walking that are related to obstacle avoidance ability. It was expected that successful obstacle avoidance would be associated with greater peak flexion/dorsiflexion and range of motion (ROM), and differences in timing of peak flexion/dorsiflexion during swing of obstacle-free walking for the hip, knee and ankle. Three-dimensional kinematics were recorded as 35 participants (young adults age 18-45 (N = 10), older adults age 65+ without a history of falls (N = 10), older adults age 65+ who had fallen in the last six months (N = 10), and individuals who had experienced a stroke more than six months earlier (N = 5)) walked on a treadmill, under obstacle-free walking conditions with kinematic features calculated for each stride. A separate obstacle avoidance task identified trippers (multiple obstacle contact) and non-trippers. Linear discriminant analysis with sequential feature selection classified trippers and non-trippers based on kinematics during obstacle-free walking. Differences in classification performance and selected features (knee ROM and timing of peak knee flexion during swing) were evaluated between trippers and non-trippers. Non-trippers had greater knee ROM (P = .001). There was no significant difference in classification performance (P = .193). Individuals with reduced knee ROM during obstacle-free walking may have greater difficulty avoiding obstacles.

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Language: en

LA - en SN - 0167-9457 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2018.09.009 ID - ref1 ER -