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Age-Related Differences in Gait Kinematics, Kinetics, and Muscle Function: A Principal Component Analysis

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Abstract

Age-related increased hip extensor recruitment during gait is a proposed compensation strategy for reduced ankle power generation and may indicate a distal-to-proximal shift in muscle function with age. Extending beyond joint level analyses, identifying age-related changes at the muscle level could capture more closely the underlying mechanisms responsible for movement. The purpose of this study was to characterize and compare muscle forces and induced accelerations during gait in healthy older adults with those of young adults. Simulations of one gait cycle for ten older (73.9 ± 5.3 years) and six young (21.0 ± 2.1 years) adults walking at their self-selected speed were analyzed. Muscle force and induced acceleration waveforms, along with kinematic, kinetic, and muscle activation waveforms, were compared between age-groups using principal component analysis. Simulations of healthy older adults had greater gluteus maximus force and vertical support contribution, but smaller iliacus force, psoas force, and psoas vertical support contribution. There were no age-group differences in distal muscle force, contribution, or ankle torque magnitudes. Later peak dorsiflexion and peak ankle angular velocity in older adults may have contributed to their greater ankle power absorption during stance. These findings reveal the complex interplay between age-related changes in neuromuscular control, kinematics, and muscle function during gait.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Bryan Heiderscheit for his assistance with data collection. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (Grant No. AG24276). This material is also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant Nos. DGE-1343012 (SAS), DGE-0822215 (JAT), and DGE-0718123 (AS).

Conflict of interest

None of the authors have a conflict of interest regarding the contents of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, E305 Scott Laboratory, 201 W 19th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210-1142, USA

    Sarah A. Schloemer & Robert A. Siston

  2. Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Julie A. Thompson & Amy Silder

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Julie A. Thompson

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Darryl G. Thelen

  5. Department of Orthopaedics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Robert A. Siston

  6. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Robert A. Siston

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  1. Sarah A. Schloemer
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  2. Julie A. Thompson
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  3. Amy Silder
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  4. Darryl G. Thelen
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Correspondence to Robert A. Siston.

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Associate Editor Thurmon E. Lockhart oversaw the review of this article.

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Schloemer, S.A., Thompson, J.A., Silder, A. et al. Age-Related Differences in Gait Kinematics, Kinetics, and Muscle Function: A Principal Component Analysis. Ann Biomed Eng 45, 695–710 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1713-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1713-4

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