Abstract
Gait maturation in infants develops gradually through several phases. However, external factors such as childrearing practices, especially the wearing of diapers, may affect an infant’s motor development. This study investigated the influence of different bulk stresses on the gait of toddlers wearing a disposable diaper. Twenty-six healthy toddlers (age: 19.2 ± 0.9 months) participated in this study. We measured the joint kinematics (pelvis angle and hip-joint angle) and spatiotemporal parameters (step length and step width) of the toddlers’ gait under four dress conditions (wearing Type A_WET, Type A_DRY, and Type B_WET diapers and naked). Type B_WET had a higher bulk stress than Type A_WET, and Type A_DRY had lower stress than Type A _ WET. Our results indicate that the walk of toddlers when wearing a diaper differs from that when naked. This difference is due to the effect of the bulk of the diaper on the lower limb. A high bulk stress has a greater influence than that of a low bulk stress on joint dynamics and step width. Therefore, our findings suggest that wearing diapers with high bulk stress may inhibit the natural gait patterns of toddlers.
Highlights
Gait maturation in infants develops gradually through several phases
Independent mobility is an essential requirement for executing various motor functions in infancy, which are associated with an early stage of gait pattern development
During the first few years of independent walking, considerable changes occur in gait parameters, in terms of spatiotemporal parameters, joint kinematics, and dynamics[10,11,12,13,14]
Summary
Gait maturation in infants develops gradually through several phases. external factors such as childrearing practices, especially the wearing of diapers, may affect an infant’s motor development. Gait maturation begins at approximately 12 months of age, and gradual development toward mature walking occurs through a series of phases in the first three years of life: newborn stepping, infant supported walking, and infant independent w alking[16] During these early stages of gait development, external factors such as childrearing practices— the use of diapers—may affect an infant’s motor development. The shape and bulk of disposable diapers are considered to have significant effects on the movement of the lower limbs in infants This condition has not been sufficiently considered, and a wide variety of analyses is needed for clarification. Necessitate clarification regarding the effects of wearing diapers on the joint kinematics and dynamics of gait in toddlers They prompt the question of whether different bulk stress characteristics affect the movement of a toddler’s lower limbs
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