Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Gait Posture. 2012 Jun;36(2):219-24. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2012.02.020. Epub 2012 Apr 1.
"Cautious" gait is generally characterized by wider and shorter steps. However, we do not clearly understand the relationship between step characteristics and individuals' stability. Here, we examined the effects of voluntarily altering step width (SW) and step length (SL) on individuals' margins of stability. Fourteen participants completed three 3-min treadmill walking trials during three SL (short, normal with metronome, and long) and three SW (narrow, normal and wide) manipulation conditions. SL manipulations yielded significant changes in mean anterior-posterior (AP) margins of stability (MOS(ap)) (p<0.0005) but not mediolateral (ML) margins of stability (MOS(ml)) (p≥0.0579). Taking wider steps increased mean MOS(ml) while decreasing MOS(ap) (p<0.0005). Walking with either wider or long steps, each of which increases the base of support, yielded increased AP and ML MOS variability (p≤0.0468). Step-to-step analysis of MOS(ml) indicated that subjects took stable steps followed immediately by stable steps. Overall, short-term, voluntary adoption of wider steps may help increase instantaneous lateral stability but shorter steps did not change lateral stability during unperturbed walking. We suggest that the observed changes in stability margins be considered in gait training programs which recommend short-term changes in step characteristics to improve stability.
“谨慎”步态通常表现为步幅更宽且更短。然而，我们并不清楚步幅特征与个体稳定性之间的关系。在这里，我们研究了自愿改变步幅（SW）和步长（SL）对个体稳定极限的影响。14 名参与者在三种 SL（短、正常节拍器和长）和三种 SW（窄、正常和宽）操作条件下完成了三次 3 分钟的跑步机行走试验。SL 操作导致前后向（AP）稳定极限（MOS(ap)）的平均显著变化（p<0.0005），但横向（ML）稳定极限（MOS(ml)）没有显著变化（p≥0.0579）。采取更宽的步幅会增加平均 MOS(ml)，同时减少 MOS(ap)（p<0.0005）。以更宽或更长的步幅行走，每一种都增加了支撑基础，会导致 AP 和 ML MOS 变异性增加（p≤0.0468）。MOS(ml)的逐步分析表明，参与者先迈出稳定的一步，然后立即迈出稳定的一步。总体而言，短期自愿采用更宽的步幅可能有助于提高瞬时横向稳定性，但较短的步幅不会改变无干扰行走时的横向稳定性。我们建议在步态训练计划中考虑到观察到的稳定极限变化，这些计划建议短期改变步幅特征以提高稳定性。
