Effect of active arm swing to local dynamic stability during walking

Yu Wu; Yue Li; An-Min Liu; Fei Xiao; Yin-Zhi Wang; Fei Hu; Jin-Ling Chen; Ke-Rong Dai; Dong-Yun Gu

doi:10.1016/j.humov.2015.10.005

Effect of active arm swing to local dynamic stability during walking

Hum Mov Sci. 2016 Feb:45:102-9. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2015.10.005. Epub 2015 Nov 23.

Authors

Yu Wu¹, Yue Li², An-Min Liu³, Fei Xiao⁴, Yin-Zhi Wang⁴, Fei Hu¹, Jin-Ling Chen¹, Ke-Rong Dai⁵, Dong-Yun Gu⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China; Engineering Research Center of Digital Medicine and Clinical Translation, Ministry of Education of P.R. China, Shanghai, China.
² Technology R & D Team, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
³ School of Health Sciences, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom.
⁴ Engineering Research Center of Digital Medicine and Clinical Translation, Ministry of Education of P.R. China, Shanghai, China; Department of Orthopedic Surgery & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopaedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁵ School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China; Engineering Research Center of Digital Medicine and Clinical Translation, Ministry of Education of P.R. China, Shanghai, China; Department of Orthopedic Surgery & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopaedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁶ School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China; Engineering Research Center of Digital Medicine and Clinical Translation, Ministry of Education of P.R. China, Shanghai, China; Department of Orthopedic Surgery & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopaedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: dongyungu@sjtu.edu.cn.

PMID: 26615477
DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2015.10.005

Abstract

Arm swing is an essential component in regulating dynamic stability of the whole body during walking, while the contribution of active arm swing to local dynamic stability of different motion segments remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of arm swing under natural arm swing condition and active arm swing condition on local dynamic stability and gait variability of the trunk segments (C7 and T10 joint) and lower extremity joints (hip, knee and ankle joint). The local divergence exponents (λs) and mean standard deviation over strides (MeanSD) of 24 young healthy adults were calculated while they were walking on treadmill with two arm swing conditions at their preferred walking speed (PWS). We found that in medial-lateral direction, both λs and MeanSD values of the trunk segments (C7 and T10 joint) in active arm swing condition were significantly lower than those in natural arm swing condition (p<0.05), while no significant difference of λs or MeanSD in lower extremity joints (hip, knee and ankle joint) was found between two arm swing conditions (p>0.05, respectively). In anterior-posterior and vertical direction, neither λs nor MeanSD values of all body segments showed significant difference between two arm swing conditions (p>0.05, respectively). These findings indicate that active arm swing may help to improve the local dynamic stability of the trunk segments in medial-lateral direction.

Keywords: Arm swing; Gait; Local divergence exponent; Local dynamic stability.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Ankle Joint / physiology
Arm / physiology*
Exercise Test
Female
Gait / physiology
Humans
Knee Joint / physiology
Male
Motor Activity / physiology*
Postural Balance / physiology*
Walking / physiology*
Young Adult