Abstract

Gait initiation (GI) over an obstacle to be cleared is a functional task that is highly challenging for the balance control system. Two swing-foot strike patterns were identified during this task—the rearfoot strike (RFS), where the heel strikes the ground first, and the forefoot strike (FFS), where the toe strikes the ground first. This study investigated the effect of the swing-foot strike pattern on the postural organisation of GI over an obstacle to be cleared. Participants performed a series of obstacle clearance tasks with the instruction to strike the ground with either an FFS or RFS pattern. Results showed that anticipatory postural adjustments in the frontal plane were smaller in FFS than in RFS, while stability was increased in FFS. The vertical braking of the centre of mass (COM) during GI swing phase was attenuated in FFS compared to RFS, leading to greater downward centre of mass velocity at foot contact in FFS. In addition, the collision forces acting on the foot were smaller in FFS than in RFS, as were the slope of these forces and the slope of the C7 vertebra acceleration at foot contact. Overall, these results suggest an interdependent relationship between balance control mechanisms and foot strike pattern for optimal stability control.

Highlights

  • Like all terrestrial species, humans move in a gravity field that permanently attracts them towards the centre of the earth

  • The results further show that the ML size of the base of support (BOSymax ) was larger under the forefoot strike (FFS) than under the rearfoot strike (RFS) condition (t12 = 4.77, p < 0.001), and that the ML centre of mass velocity at foot contact was lower

  • The present study investigated the effect of changing the swing-foot strike pattern (FFS vs. RFS)

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Summary

Introduction

Humans move in a gravity field that permanently attracts them towards the centre of the earth. Gait initiation can be broken down into a postural phase (corresponding to anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs)), followed by a swing phase that ends at the time of swing foot contact with the support surface. These APAs are characterised by a centre of pressure (COP) shift backwards towards the heels, and laterally towards the forthcoming swing leg. The mediolateral (ML) centre of pressure shift reflects a strategy to propel the centre of mass above (or beneath) the forthcoming stance foot in order to maintain ML stability during the swing phase of gait initiation [7,8,9,10,11]

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