The Influence of Different Walking Conditions on Walking Parameters

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study investigated the relationship between characteristics of walking parameters and walking parameters of different walking conditions. METHODS: The participants were 54 university students who had the habit of exercising ( 32 men and 22 women, 19.6 ± 0.7 years). Participants were asked to walk on flat and sloped ground. On the flat ground, they were asked to walk freely with a subjective intensity of “Light (ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) 11)” and “Somewhat hard (RPE 13).” The average slope was 4% for both upward and downward conditions and participants walked freely on both. Participants wore a wearable device attached to the left wrist that measured their walking speed, cadence, stride, and heart rate. RESULTS: On the flat ground, in all walking parameters, RPE 13 showed significantly higher values compared to RPE 11 (walking speed: 5.35 ± 0.49 versus 4.48 ± 0.43 km/h, cadence: 121.9 ± 8.8 versus 113.0 ± 7.3 steps/min, stride: 73.2 ± 6.8 versus 65.8 ± 6.8 cm, respectively; P < 0.05). On the sloped ground, walking speed on the upward slope showed significantly lower values compared to that on the downward slope and the free-walking speed on flat ground(upward slope: 4.85 ± 0.27 km/h, downward slope: 5.27 ± 0.38 km/h, flat ground: 5.25 ± 0.30 km/h). However, heart rate was significantly higher on the upward slope than in other conditions(118.8 ± 16.9 beats/min, 103.5 ± 14.0 beats/min, 107.8 ± 18.2 beats/min, respectively). Multiple regression analysis was performed with walking speed as the dependent variable and cadence and stride as independent variables. Results showed that for walking on the flat ground, the standardized coefficient for stride was higher than that for the cadence under all conditions. Although the same trend was found for walking on downward slopes, for walking on upward slopes, the standardized coefficient for cadence was higher than that for the stride. CONCLUSIONS: Walking parameters tended to be similar for walking on flat ground even when conditions changed; however, it became clear that characteristics of walking parameters on upward slopes varied from those of other conditions.