Emmerzaal Jill, Ippersiel Patrick, Dixon Philippe C
Department of Kinesiology and Physical Activity, McGill University, Montreal, QC H2W 1S4, Canada.
School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Jul 5;25(13):4191. doi: 10.3390/s25134191.
(1) Background: Human walking involves adapting to diverse terrains, influencing gait biomechanics. This study examined how seven outdoor surfaces-flat-even, banked-right/-left, cobblestone, grass, sloped-down, and sloped-up-affect nonlinear gait dynamics in 30 healthy adults (14 females and 15 males). (2) Methods: Trunk and shank accelerations were analyzed for movement predictability (sample entropy, SE), smoothness (log dimensionless jerk, LDLJ), symmetry (step/stride regularity), and stability (short-/long-term Lyapunov exponents, LyE, LyE). (3) Results: Surface type significantly influenced all gait metrics, regardless of sex. Banked-right and sloped-down walking reduced SE, indicating less predictable movements. All surfaces except flat-even increased LDLJ, suggesting reduced smoothness. Cobblestone and sloped-down surfaces impaired step symmetry, while banked surfaces enhanced stride symmetry. LyE decreased on cobblestones (lower variability), while sloped-up increased it. LyE rose on all surfaces except cobblestones, indicating a more chaotic gait. No significant sex differences were found, though males showed a non-significant trend toward lower LyE. Notably, sex-surface interactions emerged for SE and stride symmetry on banked-right surfaces, with females showing decreased SE and increased symmetry. (4) Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of terrain and sex in gait dynamics research.
(1) 背景：人类行走需要适应各种地形，这会影响步态生物力学。本研究考察了七种户外路面——平坦均匀、右侧/左侧倾斜、鹅卵石路面、草地、下坡和上坡——对30名健康成年人（14名女性和15名男性）非线性步态动力学的影响。(2) 方法：分析躯干和小腿加速度，以评估运动的可预测性（样本熵，SE）、平滑度（对数无量纲急动度，LDLJ）、对称性（步幅/步长规律性）和稳定性（短期/长期李雅普诺夫指数，LyE、LyE）。(3) 结果：无论性别如何，路面类型均对所有步态指标有显著影响。右侧倾斜和下坡行走降低了SE，表明运动的可预测性降低。除平坦均匀路面外，所有路面的LDLJ均增加，表明平滑度降低。鹅卵石路面和下坡路面损害了步幅对称性，而倾斜路面增强了步长对称性。在鹅卵石路面上LyE降低（变异性较小），而上坡路面则使其增加。除鹅卵石路面外，所有路面的LyE均上升，表明步态更混乱。未发现显著的性别差异，不过男性的LyE有不显著的降低趋势。值得注意的是，在右侧倾斜路面上，SE和步长对称性出现了性别-路面交互作用，女性的SE降低且对称性增加。(4) 结论：这些发现强调了地形和性别在步态动力学研究中的重要性。
