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Gait analysis by measuring ground reaction forces in children: changes to an adaptive gait pattern between the ages of one and five years
Author(s) -
Preis Sabine,
Klemms Anja,
Müller Kristiina
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1997.tb07416.x
Subject(s) - ground reaction force , gait , gait cycle , heel , physical medicine and rehabilitation , gait analysis , effect of gait parameters on energetic cost , medicine , psychology , physical therapy , physics , anatomy , kinematics , classical mechanics
The aim of this study was to look at the maturational profile of gait parameters by measuring ground reaction forces during independent walking in children. Fifty‐four normal children aged 1 to 5 years were examined. The children walked with eight force transducers under each sole. Gait velocity and step length increased with age, whereas step frequency remained relatively constant. Phases of double ground contact expressed as percentages of the total gait cycle decreased significantly from age 1 to 5 with the steepest decrease occuring in the first year of independent walking. No asymmetry between left and right could be detected for any of these parameters. The pattern of ground reaction forces with a significant heel strike and obvious enrollment process resembling that in adults was achieved between the age of 2 and 3 years. Measuring ground reaction forces is a fast and easily manageable method of analysing gait pattern in children and is also a promising tool for detection of gait abnormalities in children with neurological disease.