Cadence (steps/min) as an indicator of the walk-to-run transition

Colleen J Chase; Elroy J Aguiar; Christopher C Moore; Stuart R Chipkin; John Staudenmayer; Catrine Tudor-Locke; Scott W Ducharme

doi:10.1016/j.humov.2023.103117

Cadence (steps/min) as an indicator of the walk-to-run transition

Hum Mov Sci. 2023 Aug:90:103117. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2023.103117. Epub 2023 Jun 17.

Authors

Colleen J Chase¹, Elroy J Aguiar², Christopher C Moore³, Stuart R Chipkin⁴, John Staudenmayer⁵, Catrine Tudor-Locke⁶, Scott W Ducharme⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA. Electronic address: chase@umass.edu.
² Department of Kinesiology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁴ Department of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
⁶ College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA.
⁷ Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA.

PMID: 37336086
PMCID: PMC10526715 (available on 2024-08-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2023.103117

Abstract

Background: Humans naturally transition from walking to running at a point known as the walk-to-run transition (WRT). The WRT commonly occurs at a speed of ∼2.1 m/s (m/s) or a Froude number (dimensionless value considering leg length) of 0.5. Emerging evidence suggests the WRT can also be classified using a cadence of 140 steps/min. An accurate cadence-based WRT metric would aid in classifying wearable technology minute-level step metrics as walking vs. running.

Purpose: To evaluate performance of 1) WRT predictors directly identified from a treadmill-based dataset of sequentially faster bouts, and 2) accepted WRT predictors compiled from previous literature.

Methods: Twenty-eight adults (71.4% men; age = 36.6 ± 12.8 years, BMI = 26.2 ± 4.7 kg/m²) completed a series of five-minute treadmill walking bouts increasing in 0.2 m/s increments until they freely chose to run. Optimal WRT values for speed, Froude number, and cadence were identified using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. WRT value performance was evaluated via classification accuracy metrics.

Results: Overall accuracies (metric, percent) according to WRT predictors from previous literature were: speed (2.1 m/s, 55.0%), Froude number (0.5, 76.8%), and cadence (140 steps/min, 91.1%), and those from the dataset herein were: speed (1.9 and 2.0 m/s, 78.6%), Froude number (0.68, 77.3%), and cadence (134, 139, and 141 steps/min, 92.9%). The three equally accurate cadence values support a heuristic range of cadence-based WRT values in young and middle-aged adults: 135-140 steps/min.

Significance: A tight range of cadence values performed better as WRT predictors compared to either previously reported or directly identified speed or Froude number values. These findings have important implications for gait classification, especially considering cadence is a simple metric which can be readily assessed across settings using direct observation or wearable technologies.

Keywords: Froude number; Locomotion; Speed; Step rate; Steps/min.

MeSH terms

Acceleration*
Adult
Exercise Test
Female
Gait
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Running*
Walking
Young Adult

Grants and funding

R01 AG049024/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States