Kinematic Comparison Between Walking and Jogging in The Lower Limbs Joints

Abstract

Background Walking and jogging are considered two of the most important movements in human daily life. However, no previous studies have been conducted comparing the kinematics between these two movements. Research questions Are there any differences in joint kinematics of the lower limbs when walking and jogging? Methods Thirteen healthy males participated in this study with a mean age of 31.6 years. A motion capture system was used to collect walking and jogging movements in the lower limbs. The joint angles in hip, knee and ankle were compared between two movements. Statistical method was the repeated measurement of general linear model. Results The main finding was a significant difference between walking and jogging in the hip and ankle in sagittal plane in the knee in the transverse plane. During the entire gait cycle, the hip max extension in walking were roughly 9 deg larger than in jogging, but hip max flexion in walking were roughly 4 deg smaller than in jogging; as whole in the sagittal plane, the range of motion in the hip was larger in walking than in jogging by roughly 12%. Knee angles in the transverse plane were significantly greater in jogging than in walking by roughly 6 deg or 26% while similar in the sagittal plane. The ankle had larger range of motion in jogging than in walking by roughly 10 deg or 22% in the sagittal plane. Significance The study results demonstrate that jogging has not increased hip range of motion in the sagittal plane, but increased knee rotation in transverse plane largely in compared with walking. Moreover, jogging required greater flexibility at the ankle. The findings indicate that the protection of injury needs to pay more attention to the knee and ankle.