Sports Physical Therapy Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece.
Section of Informatics 1st Vocational Lyceum of Vari, Directorate of Secondary Education of East Attica, Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, 16672 Athens, Greece.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Jan 5;23(2):609. doi: 10.3390/s23020609.
Load carriage and uphill walking are conditions that either individually or in combination can compromise postural control and gait eliciting several musculoskeletal low back and lower limb injuries. The objectives of this study were to investigate postural control responses and spatiotemporal parameters of gait during level and uphill unloaded (UL), back-loaded (BL), and front-loaded (FL) walking. Postural control was assessed in 30 asymptomatic individuals by simultaneously recording (i) EMG activity of neck, thoracic and lumbar erector spinae, and rectus abdominis, (ii) projected 95% ellipse area as well as the anteroposterior and mediolateral trunk displacement, and (iii) spatiotemporal gait parameters (stride/step length and cadence). Measurements were performed during level (0%) and uphill (5, 10, and 15%) walking at a speed of 5 km h without and with a suspended front pack or a backpack weighing 15% of each participant's body weight. The results of our study showed that postural control, as indicated by increased erector spinae EMG activity and changes in spatiotemporal parameters of gait that manifested with decreased stride/step length and increased cadence, is compromised particularly during level and uphill FL walking as opposed to BL or UL walking, potentially increasing the risk of musculoskeletal and fall-related injuries.
携带负荷和上坡行走会单独或联合影响姿势控制和步态，导致多种下背部和下肢的肌肉骨骼损伤。本研究的目的是探究在水平和上坡无负荷（UL）、后负荷（BL）和前负荷（FL）行走时，姿势控制反应和步态的时空参数。通过同时记录（i）颈、胸和腰竖脊肌和腹直肌的肌电图活动，（ii）投影的 95%椭圆面积以及躯干前后和左右位移，以及（iii）步态的时空参数（步幅/步长和步频），对 30 名无症状个体的姿势控制进行评估。测量在 0%水平和 5%、10%和 15%上坡时进行，速度为 5 公里/小时，无悬挂前包或背包，或携带相当于参与者体重 15%的背包。我们的研究结果表明，姿势控制（表现为竖脊肌 EMG 活动增加和步态时空参数的变化，表现为步幅/步长减小和步频增加）受损，特别是在水平和上坡 FL 行走时，而不是 BL 或 UL 行走时，可能会增加肌肉骨骼和跌倒相关损伤的风险。
