Slowing gait during turning: how volition of modifying walking speed affects the gait pattern in healthy adults

Julian Madrid; Leo Benning; Mischa Selig; Baptiste Ulrich; Brigitte M Jolles; Julien Favre; David H Benninger

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2024.1269772

Slowing gait during turning: how volition of modifying walking speed affects the gait pattern in healthy adults

Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Feb 29:18:1269772. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1269772. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Julian Madrid¹, Leo Benning^{2

3}, Mischa Selig⁴, Baptiste Ulrich⁵, Brigitte M Jolles^{5

6}, Julien Favre⁵, David H Benninger¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DNC), Clinic of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
² University Emergency Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
³ Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, G.E.R.N. Research Center for Tissue Replacement, Regeneration and Neogenesis, Freiburg, Germany.
⁵ Swiss BioMotion Lab, Department of Musculoskeletal Medicine (DAL), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁶ Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: Turning during walking and volitionally modulating walking speed introduces complexity to gait and has been minimally explored.

Research question: How do the spatiotemporal parameters vary between young adults walking at a normal speed and a slower speed while making 90°, 180°, and 360° turns?

Methods: In a laboratory setting, the spatiotemporal parameters of 10 young adults were documented as they made turns at 90°, 180°, and 360°. A generalized linear model was utilized to determine the effect of both walking speed and turning amplitude.

Results: Young adults volitionally reducing their walking speed while turning at different turning amplitudes significantly decreased their cadence and spatial parameters while increasing their temporal parameters. In conditions of slower movement, the variability of certain spatial parameters decreased, while the variability of some temporal parameters increased.

Significance: This research broadens the understanding of turning biomechanics in relation to volitionally reducing walking speed. Cadence might be a pace gait constant synchronizing the rhythmic integration of several inputs to coordinate an ordered gait pattern output. Volition might up-regulate or down-regulate this pace gait constant (i.e., cadence) which creates the feeling of modulating walking speed.

Keywords: cadence; gait; pace gait constant; slowing; turning; variability; volition; walking speed.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was partially funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF grant: #32003B-166433) and the Profectus Foundation. The study sponsors were not involved in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.