Frigo Carlo Albino, Favata Alessandra, Camuncoli Federica, Farinelli Veronica, Kiekens Carlotte, Malfitano Calogero, Palmisano Chiara, Negrini Stefano
Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Biomechanical Engineering Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
J Clin Med. 2025 Jan 2;14(1):209. doi: 10.3390/jcm14010209.
While the importance of the upper and lower limbs in locomotion is well understood, the kinematics of the trunk during walking remains largely unexplored. Two decades ago, a casual observation was reported indicating spine lengthening in a small sample of mostly children during walking, but this observation was never replicated. Objectives: This study aims to verify the preliminary observation that spine lengthening occurs during walking and to explore changes in spine kinematics across three different age groups. A convenience sample of 45 healthy participants was divided into three groups of 15 individuals each: children (ages 5 to 13), young adults (ages 18 to 30), and older adults (ages 50 to 70). The spinal length, defined as the distance between C7 and the coccyx, and other kinematic parameters were analyzed using a motion analysis system while participants stood and walked standing and walking at their natural cadence. In all groups, the length of the spine increased while walking compared to standing. This change was primarily due to a reduction in the inferior spinal angle, which is associated with lumbar lordosis, rather than a change in the superior spinal angle, which is related to thoracic kyphosis. The average change in spinal length during the walking cycle was approximately 7% in children, while it was only about 1% in adults. We also found a reduction in the range of motion for almost all the variables in adults. The increase in the spinal length during walking is related to a reduction in the physiological spine curve. This occurs due to muscle contractions which are needed to stabilize the locomotor system. As people age, the reduction in spinal length changes is associated with decreased spinal mobility and to a natural tendency toward anterior trunk flexion.
虽然上肢和下肢在运动中的重要性已得到充分理解，但步行过程中躯干的运动学在很大程度上仍未得到探索。二十年前，有报告称一项偶然观察发现，在一小部分主要为儿童的样本中，步行时脊柱会拉长，但该观察结果从未被重复验证。目的：本研究旨在验证步行时脊柱会拉长这一初步观察结果，并探讨三个不同年龄组脊柱运动学的变化。45名健康参与者的便利样本被分为三组，每组15人：儿童（5至13岁）、年轻成年人（18至30岁）和老年人（50至70岁）。使用运动分析系统分析了参与者站立和以自然步频行走时的脊柱长度（定义为C7与尾骨之间的距离）及其他运动学参数。在所有组中，与站立相比，步行时脊柱长度增加。这种变化主要是由于与腰椎前凸相关的下脊柱角度减小，而非与胸椎后凸相关的上脊柱角度变化。儿童在步行周期中脊柱长度的平均变化约为7%，而成年人仅约为1%。我们还发现成年人几乎所有变量的运动范围都有所减小。步行时脊柱长度的增加与生理脊柱曲线的减小有关。这是由于稳定运动系统所需的肌肉收缩所致。随着年龄增长，脊柱长度变化的减小与脊柱活动度降低以及躯干向前屈曲的自然趋势有关。
