Abstract
This study investigated the effects of walking in an elastic force field (FF) for varying durations (49–1,629 strides) on: (a) the magnitude and duration of aftereffects, (b) performance in the FF on the next day. On day 1 in the FF, subjects (n = 17) showed an initial large error in peak toe velocity during swing (9–61% above baseline) that was largely reduced within the first 40 strides. After FF removal, subjects (16/17) showed aftereffects: (1) reduction in toe velocity (9–38% below baseline), (2) increase in hamstrings muscle activation. While the magnitude of aftereffects did not correlate to FF exposure duration, aftereffects duration did (p < 0.05). During FF exposure on day 2, initial toe velocity error was smaller than on day 1 (13/17 subjects, p < 0.001) regardless of day 1 exposure duration. This was associated with an earlier effective onset in hamstring activation. These results suggest that during walking, even short daily exposures to a FF (≥49 strides) lead to significant retention of the new movement parameters.
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Ackowledgments
The authors would like to thank subjects for participating in this project, M. Denis Côté for statistical support, M. Simon Lebel for data collection and M. Guy St-Vincent for his technical support. Financial support was provided by an operating grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Karine Fortin and Laurent J. Bouyer were supported by the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ).
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Fortin, K., Blanchette, A., McFadyen, B.J. et al. Effects of walking in a force field for varying durations on aftereffects and on next day performance. Exp Brain Res 199, 145–155 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-009-1989-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-009-1989-9