Decrease in walking speed increases hip moment impulse in the frontal plane during the stance phase.

Takuma Inai,Tomoya Takabayashi,Masayoshi Kubo,Mutsuaki Edama

doi:10.7717/peerj.8110

Abstract

BackgroundIncreased daily cumulative hip moment in the frontal plane (i.e., the product of hip moment impulse in the frontal plane during the stance phase and mean steps per day) is a risk factor for progression of hip osteoarthritis. Although hip osteoarthritis generally causes a decrease in the walking speed, its effect on hip moment impulse in the frontal plane is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between decrease in walking speed and hip moment impulse in the frontal plane.MethodsWe used a public dataset of treadmill walking in 17 older adults (mean (SD) age: 63.2 (8.0) years). The subjects walked on the treadmill for 30 s under five conditions: (1) 40% of comfortable non-dimensional speed (CNDS), (2) 55% CNDS, (3) 70% CNDS, (4) 85% CNDS, and (5) 100% CNDS. The hip moment impulse in the frontal plane non-normalized (or normalized) to step length (Nm s/kg [or Nm s/(kg m)]) for each condition was calculated. Furthermore, the relationship between walking speed and hip moment impulse in the frontal plane non-normalized (or normalized) to step length was examined using regression analysis based on a previous study.ResultsA decrease in non-dimensional speed (i.e., walking speed) significantly increased the non-normalized (or normalized) hip moment impulse in the frontal plane during the stance phase. The relationship between walking speed and non-normalized (or normalized) hip moment impulse in the frontal plane was fitted by a second-order polynomial.DiscussionThis study revealed that a decrease in walking speed increased the non-normalized (or normalized) hip moment impulse in the frontal plane in healthy older adults. This finding is useful for understanding the relationship between walking speed and hip moment impulse in the frontal plane and suggests that a decrease in walking speed may actually increase the daily cumulative hip moment in the frontal plane of patients with hip osteoarthritis.

Highlights

Abnormal mechanical loading can lead to the onset and progression of osteoarthritis (DeFrate et al, 2019), with changes to the articular cartilage surface, including irregularities, thinning, and defects in patients with hip osteoarthritis (Ahedi et al, 2016)
Tateuchi et al (2017) examined the relationships between radiographic progression and various gait parameters during the stance phase and found that a higher daily cumulative hip moment in the frontal plane predicted radiographic progression of hip osteoarthritis over a 12-month period
An excessive increase in the hip moment impulse in the frontal plane or the number of steps taken per day is a risk factor for hip osteoarthritis and a decrease in these parameters may prevent its progression

Summary

Introduction

Abnormal mechanical loading can lead to the onset and progression of osteoarthritis (DeFrate et al, 2019), with changes to the articular cartilage surface, including irregularities, thinning, and defects in patients with hip osteoarthritis (Ahedi et al, 2016). An excessive increase in the hip moment impulse in the frontal plane or the number of steps taken per day is a risk factor for hip osteoarthritis and a decrease in these parameters may prevent its progression. Increased daily cumulative hip moment in the frontal plane (i.e., the product of hip moment impulse in the frontal plane during the stance phase and mean steps per day) is a risk factor for progression of hip osteoarthritis. The relationship between walking speed and hip moment impulse in the frontal plane non-normalized (or normalized) to step length was examined using regression analysis based on a previous study. This study revealed that a decrease in walking speed increased the nonnormalized (or normalized) hip moment impulse in the frontal plane in healthy older adults. This finding is useful for understanding the relationship between walking speed and hip moment impulse in the frontal plane and suggests that a decrease in walking speed may increase the daily cumulative hip moment in the frontal plane of patients with hip osteoarthritis

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