Department of Neurology, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University Medicine, Seoul 02841, Korea.
Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Sensors (Basel). 2022 Jul 29;22(15):5686. doi: 10.3390/s22155686.
Step length is a critical hallmark of health status. However, few studies have investigated the modifiable factors that may affect step length. An exploratory, cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the surface electromyography (sEMG) and body impedance analysis (BIA) parameters, combined with individual demographic data, to predict the individual step length using the GAITRite® system. Healthy participants aged 40−80 years were prospectively recruited, and three models were built to predict individual step length. The first model was the best-fit model (R2 = 0.244, p < 0.001); the root mean square (RMS) values at maximal knee flexion and height were included as significant variables. The second model used all candidate variables, except sEMG variables, and revealed that age, height, and body fat mass (BFM) were significant variables for predicting the average step length (R2 = 0.198, p < 0.001). The third model, which was used to predict step length without sEMG and BIA, showed that only age and height remained significant (R2 = 0.158, p < 0.001). This study revealed that the RMS value at maximal strength knee flexion, height, age, and BFM are important predictors for individual step length, and possibly suggesting that strengthening knee flexor function and reducing BFM may help improve step length.
步长是健康状况的一个关键标志。然而，很少有研究调查可能影响步长的可调节因素。本研究进行了一项探索性的横断面研究，旨在评估表面肌电图（sEMG）和生物阻抗分析（BIA）参数，结合个体人口统计学数据，使用 GAITRite®系统预测个体步长。前瞻性招募了年龄在 40-80 岁的健康参与者，并建立了三个模型来预测个体步长。第一个模型是最佳拟合模型（R2 = 0.244，p < 0.001）；最大膝关节屈曲和高度的均方根（RMS）值被纳入为显著变量。第二个模型使用了所有候选变量，除了 sEMG 变量，结果表明年龄、身高和体脂肪量（BFM）是预测平均步长的显著变量（R2 = 0.198，p < 0.001）。第三个模型用于预测没有 sEMG 和 BIA 的步长，结果表明只有年龄和身高仍然是显著的（R2 = 0.158，p < 0.001）。本研究表明，最大力量膝关节屈曲时的 RMS 值、身高、年龄和 BFM 是个体步长的重要预测因素，这可能表明增强膝关节屈肌功能和减少 BFM 可能有助于提高步长。
