Tsuchida Wakako, Inai Takuma, Kudo Shoma, Kobayashi Yoshiyuki, Fujimoto Masahiro
Integrated Research Center for Self-Care Technology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
Health and Medical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2025 May 20;13:1525174. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1525174. eCollection 2025.
As the global elderly population increases, maintaining walking ability and minimizing fall risk among older adults is crucial for their health and wellbeing. Knee sleeves are commonly utilized in geriatric sports and rehabilitation to stabilize knee joint movement and enhance gait stability. However, their effects on joint kinematics during walking in healthy older adults, particularly on joint angle variability-a factor associated with fall risk-remain inadequately explored. This study aimed to investigate the influence of knee sleeves on joint angle variability during gait in healthy older adults.
Principal component analysis was performed on 16 healthy older adults residing in the community, utilizing 3D spatiotemporal data of the participants' time-normalized lower limb joint angles throughout the complete gait cycle. The analysis involved a 64 × 1818 input matrix, accounting for 16 participants, two conditions (control and knee sleeves), two walking speeds (normal and fast), three angles, three axes, 101 time points, and two parameters (average and variability). Kinematic waveforms were reconstructed based on the statistical findings to identify notable differences in joint angle variabilities between the conditions.
The outcomes revealed reduced variability in knee and ankle joint angles on the sagittal plane when walking with knee sleeves compared to walking without them. Conversely, an increased variability in hip, knee, and ankle joint angles was observed on the sagittal plane when walking at a fast speed compared to a normal speed. These results suggest that knee sleeves may reduce variability in knee and ankle joint angles during walking in older adults, potentially lowering the risk of falls. This effect appears particularly beneficial during fast-paced walking, where joint angle fluctuations are more pronounced than during normal-speed walking. These findings offer quantitative evidence for the effectiveness of knee sleeves in enhancing walking performance in healthy older adults.
随着全球老年人口的增加，维持老年人的行走能力并将其跌倒风险降至最低对他们的健康和福祉至关重要。膝关节护具常用于老年体育和康复领域，以稳定膝关节运动并提高步态稳定性。然而，它们对健康老年人行走过程中关节运动学的影响，尤其是对与跌倒风险相关的关节角度变异性的影响，仍未得到充分研究。本研究旨在探讨膝关节护具对健康老年人步态中关节角度变异性的影响。
对16名居住在社区的健康老年人进行主成分分析，利用参与者在整个完整步态周期中经时间归一化的下肢关节角度的三维时空数据。分析涉及一个64×1818的输入矩阵，包括16名参与者、两种条件（对照组和佩戴膝关节护具组）、两种行走速度（正常和快速）、三个角度、三个轴、101个时间点以及两个参数（平均值和变异性）。根据统计结果重建运动学波形，以确定不同条件下关节角度变异性的显著差异。
结果显示，与不佩戴膝关节护具行走相比，佩戴膝关节护具行走时，矢状面上膝关节和踝关节角度的变异性降低。相反，与正常速度行走相比，快速行走时在矢状面上观察到髋关节、膝关节和踝关节角度的变异性增加。这些结果表明，膝关节护具可能会降低老年人行走时膝关节和踝关节角度的变异性，从而潜在地降低跌倒风险。这种效果在快步行走时似乎特别有益，因为此时关节角度波动比正常速度行走时更为明显。这些发现为膝关节护具在提高健康老年人行走性能方面的有效性提供了定量证据。
