title: Stride variability in human gait: the effect of stride frequency and stride length.
abstract: This study focused on spatial and temporal variability of the stride in human gait. We determined the role of stride frequency (F) and stride length (L) on those parameters. Eight healthy subjects walked on a treadmill using 25 different FL combinations (0.95<L<1.5 m, and 0.8<F<1.26 Hz). The results showed that spatial and temporal variabilities tend to increase in concert with respect to change in stride parameters. In addition, stride variability was found (1) to be minimal at F=1 Hz; and (2) to increase with smaller L. During additional trials, subjects walked freely at various speeds. Although it is generally hypothesized that freely chosen behaviors are optimal in terms of variability, our data show that this is not always the case in human gait.
authors.affiliation: UMR 6152 Mouvement et Perception, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, CNRS, Université de la Méditerranée, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13 288 Marseille, France. danion@laps.univ-mrs.fr
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Danion
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Varraine
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonnard
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pailhous
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis