Physical fitness and walking ability of the elderly
I. A kinematic analysis of foot movement during walking
Takafumi FUCHIMOTO, Jun HASEGAWA and Masahiro KANEKO
Foot movements and excursion of the body's center of mass (COM) during normal walking were
analyzed three dimensionally using the DLT method. The 80 subjects consisted of 15 elderly men
(64-87 years), 29 elderly women (62-82 years) , 20 young men (18-26 years) , and 16 young women
(18-26 years) . Walking at the most comfortable speed (normal walking) was filmed using two
digital video cameras at 60 fps. The time course of foot movement and excursion of COM were
analyzed on the sagittal and horizontal planes using a computer. The walking speed of the elderly
group was significantly lower than that of the young group due to shorter step length. The shorter
step length of the elderly group was strongly effected by stature. There was no difference in step
length or cadence at the same walking speed between the elderly and young groups when differences
in stature were considered. In the sagittal plane, the minimal height of toe clearance during mid
swing was significantly higher in the elderly group than in the young group, and the vertical
excursion of COM was significantly greater in elderly men than in young men. In the horizontal
plane, elderly men showed a greater foot angle (out toeing) , whereas elderly women showed
a narrower step width than the younger groups.
