Temporospatial analysis: Gait characteristics of young adults and the elderly in turning while walking

Abstract

© 2015, (publisher). All rights reserved. Background/Aim: Turning can be a difficult activity for the elderly and has been shown to contribute to a high incidence of falls. While earlier studies have shown differences between age groups in the segmental biomechanics used during turning, a comparative study into the temporospatial parameters during turning is needed to help us to understand how these mechanisms change with age. This study aimed to describe and compare movement characteristics that serve as indicators of difficulty in turning while walking in young adults and the elderly. Methods: Two groups of participants were assessed: young adults (n=20; age range: 18–25 years) and elderly adults (n=20; age range: 60–74 years). A Vicon motion capture system was used to collect data from both groups. Participants were instructed to perform a turn at both 45º and 90º, making each turn first on their right limb and then on their left limb. Three characteristics were used to identify difficulty in turning: i) step length; ii) the time taken to accomplish the turn (step time); iii) the number of steps taken during the turn (step speed). The main effects and interactions of age group (young adults vs elderly), degrees turned (45 o and 90 o) and ipsilateral limb (i.e. the limb on the side of the turn, left or right) on the step variables (length, time and speed) were assessed using a three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A t-test was also carried out, with significant values adjusted according to the Bonferroni correction. Results: Findings demonstrated significant main effects for age, degrees turned and ipsilateral limb, as well as a significant two-way interaction between degrees turned and ipsilateral limb for step length. Main effects for age, degrees turned and ipsilateral limb were found for step speed. Both age groups demonstrated a significant decrease in step speed when turning at 90º compared with 45º, as well as when turning on the left limb compared with the right limb. A comparison between both age groups showed that the elderly participants demonstrated the following characteristics when turning: i) significant decrease in step length; ii) increase in step time; iii) decrease in step speed. Conclusions: Different turning characteristics were expressed between age groups, degrees turned and ipsilateral limb. In general, the elderly participants turned with shorter step length, longer step time and slower step speed than the young adults. We believe these changes observed in the three characteristics in the elderly group are indicators of difficulty in turning while walking.