Biomechanics and energetics of walking on uneven terrain

Voloshina, A S; Kuo, A D; Daley, M A; Ferris, D P

Abstract

Walking on uneven terrain is more energetically costly than walking on smooth ground, but the biomechanical factors that contribute to this increase are unknown. To identify possible factors, we constructed an uneven terrain treadmill that allowed us to record biomechanical, electromyographic and metabolic energetics data from human subjects. We hypothesized that walking on uneven terrain would increase step width and length variability, joint mechanical work and muscle co-activation compared with walking on smooth terrain. We tested healthy subjects (N=11) walking at 1.0 m s−1, and found that, when walking on uneven terrain with up to 2.5 cm variation, subjects decreased their step length by 4% and did not significantly change their step width, while both step length and width variability increased significantly (22 and 36%, respectively; P

Citation

Voloshina, A. S., Kuo, A. D., Daley, M. A., & Ferris, D. P. (2013). Biomechanics and energetics of walking on uneven terrain. Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(21), 3963-3970. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.081711

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 15, 2013
• Publication Date: Oct 13, 2013
• Deposit Date: Nov 11, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 28, 2019
• Journal: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
• Print ISSN: 0022-0949
• Publisher: The Company of Biologists
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 216
• Issue: 21
• Pages: 3963-3970
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.081711
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1409004
• Additional Information: Corporate Creators : Michigan