Abstract
The inability to adequately control the motion of the center of mass (COM) in the frontal plane may result in a loss of balance causing a sideways fall during human gait. The primary purposes of this study were (1) to derive the feasible stability region (FSR) in the mediolateral direction, and (2) to compare the FSR with the COM motion state taken from 193 trials among 39 young subjects at liftoff during walking at different speeds. The lower boundary of the FSR was derived, at a given initial COM location, as the minimum rightward COM velocity, at liftoff of the left foot, required to bring the COM into the base of support (BOS), i.e., the right (stance) foot, as the COM velocity diminishes. The upper boundary was derived as the maximum rightward COM velocity, beyond which the left foot must land to the right of the right foot (BOS) in order to prevent a fall. We established a 2-link human model and employed dynamic optimization to estimate these threshold values for velocity. For a range of initial COM positions, simulated annealing algorithm was used to search for the threshold velocity values. Our study quantified the extent to which mediolateral balance can still be maintained without resorting to a crossover step (the left foot lands to the right of the BOS) for balance recovery. The derived FSR is in good agreement with our gait experimental results.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agie, A., V. Nikolie, and B. Mijovie. Foot anthropometry and morphology phenomena. Coll. Antropol. 30:815–821, 2006.
Anderson, F. C. A dynamic optimization solution for a complete cycle of normal gait: an analysis of muscle function and joint contact force. PhD dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 1999.
Barak, Y., R. C. Wagenaar, and K. G. Holt. Gait characteristics of elderly people with a history of falls: a dynamic approach. Phys. Ther. 86:1501–1510, 2006.
Beauchet, O., G. Allali, G. Berrut, and V. Dubost. Is low lower-limb kinematic variability always an index of stability? Gait Posture 26:327–328, 2007.
Bhatt, T., and Y.-C. Pai. Immediate and latent interlimb transfer of gait stability adaptation following repeated exposure to slips. J. Motor Behav. 40:380–390, 2009.
Bhatt, T., J. D. Wening, and Y.-C. Pai. Influence of gait speed on stability: recovery from anterior slips and compensatory stepping. Gait Posture 21:146–156, 2005.
Bhatt, T., J. D. Wening, and Y.-C. Pai. Adaptive control of gait stability in reducing slip-related backward loss of balance. Exp. Brain Res. 170:61–73, 2006.
Bieryla, K. A., M. L. Madigan, and M. A. Nussbaum. Practicing recovery from a simulated trip improves recovery kinematics after an actual trip. Gait Posture 26:208–213, 2007.
Borelli, G. A. On the Movement of Animals. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 236 pp., 1989.
Cham, R., and M. S. Redfern. Heel contact dynamics during slip events on level and inclined surfaces. Saf. Sci. 40:559–576, 2002.
Colum, D., D. Mackinnon, and D. A. Winter. Control of whole body balance in the frontal plane during human walking. J. Biomech. 26:633–644, 1993.
Corona, A., M. Marchesi, C. Martini, and S. Ridella. Minimizing multimodal functions of continuous variables with the “Simulated Annealing” algorithm. ACM Trans. Math. Software 13:262–280, 1987.
Delp, S. L., F. C. Anderson, A. S. Arnold, P. Loan, A. Habib, C. John, and D. G. Thelen. OpenSim: open-source software to create and analyze dynamic simulations of movement. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 54:1940–1950, 2007.
Delp, S. L., and J. P. Loan. A computational framework for simulating and analyzing human and animal movement. Comput. Sci. Eng. 2:46–55, 2000.
Dingwell, J., J. Cusumano, P. Cavanagh, and D. Sternad. Local dynamic stability versus kinematic variability of continuous overground and treadmill walking. J. Biomech. Eng. 123:27–32, 2001.
Dingwell, J. B., and J. P. Cusumano. Nonlinear time series analysis of normal and pathological human walking. Chaos 10:848–863, 2000.
Dingwell, J. B., K. H. Gu, and L. C. Marin. The effects of sensory loss and walking speed on the orbital dynamic stability of human walking. J. Biomech. 40:1723–1730, 2007.
England, S. A., and K. P. Granata. The influence of gait speed on local dynamic stability of walking. Gait Posture 25:172–178, 2007.
Geng, T., B. Porr, and F. Worgotter. Fast biped walking with a sensor-driven neuronal controller and real-time online learning. Int. J. Robot. Res. 25:243–259, 2006.
Goswami, A., B. Espiau, and B. Thuilot. Compass-like Bipedal Robot Part I: Stability and Bifuraction of Passive Gaits, Report Number: 2996. Unite de recherche INRIA Rhone-Alpes, Montbonnot St Martin, France, pp. 1–86, 1996.
Greenspan, S. L., B. R. Myers, D. P. Kiel, R. A. Parker, W. C. Hayes, and N. M. Resnick. Fall direction, bone mineral density, and function: risk factors for hip fracture in frail nursing home elderly. Am. J. Med. 104:539–545, 1998.
Haddad, J. M., J. L. Gagnon, C. J. Hasson, R. E. A. Van Emmerik, and J. Hamill. Evaluation of time-to-contact measures for assessing postural stability. J. Appl. Biomech. 22:155–161, 2006.
Hasson, C. J., R. E. A. Van Emmerik, and G. E. Caldwell. Predicting dynamic postural instability using center of mass time-to-contact information. J. Biomech. 41:2121–2129, 2008.
Hausdorff, J. M., D. A. Rios, and H. K. Edelberg. Gait variability and fall risk in community-living older adults: a 1-year prospective study. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 82:1050–1056, 2001.
Helbostad, J. L., and R. Moe-Nilssen. The effect of gait speed on lateral balance control during walking in healthy elderly. Gait Posture 18:27–36, 2003.
Hof, A. L., M. G. Gazendam, and W. E. Sinke. The condition for dynamic stability. J. Biomech. 38:1–8, 2005.
Hof, A. L., R. M. van Bockel, T. Schoppen, and K. Postema. Control of lateral balance in walking experimental findings in normal subjects and above-knee amputees. Gait Posture 25:250–258, 2007.
Hurmuzlu, Y. Dynamics of bipedal gait: Part II. Stability analysis of a planar five-link biped. J. Appl. Mech. 60:337–343, 1993.
Kuo, A. D. Stabilization of lateral motion in passive dynamic walking. Int. J. Robot. Res. 18:917–930, 1999.
Kuo, A. D., J. M. Donelan, and A. Ruina. Energetic consequences of walking like an inverted pendulum: step-to-step transitions. Exer. Sport Sci. Rev. 33:88–97, 2005.
Lockhart, T. E., and J. Liu. Differentiating fall-prone and healthy adults using local dynamic stability. Ergonomics 51:1860–1872, 2008.
Lord, S. R., P. N. Sambrook, C. Gilbert, P. J. Kelly, T. Nquyen, T. W. Webster, and J. A. Eisman. Postural stability, falls and fractures in the elderly: results from the Dubbo Osteporosis Epidemiology study. Med. J. Aust. 160:688–691, 1994.
Maki, B. E. Gait changes in older adults: predictors of falls or indicators of fear. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 45:313–320, 1997.
Maki, B. E., P. J. Holliday, and A. K. Topper. A prospective study of postural balance and risk of falling in an ambulatory and independent elderly population. J. Gerontol. 49:M72–M84, 1994.
Mille, M. L., M. W. Rogers, K. Martinez, L. D. Hedman, M. E. Johnson, S. R. Lord, and R. C. Fitzpatrick. Thresholds for inducing protective stepping responses to external perturbations of human standing. J. Neurophysiol. 90:666–674, 2003.
Newell, K. M. Degrees of freedom and the development of postural center of pressure profiles. In: Application of Nonlinear Dynamics to Developmental Process Modeling, edited by K. M. Newell and P. C. M. Molenaar. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1997, pp. 63–84.
Pai, Y.-C. Movement termination and stability in standing. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 31:19–25, 2003.
Pai, Y.-C., and K. Iqbal. Simulated movement termination for balance recovery: can movement strategies be sought to maintain stability even in the presence of slipping or forced sliding? J. Biomech. 32:779–786, 1999.
Pai, Y.-C., B. E. Maki, K. Iqbal, W. E. McIlroy, and S. D. Perry. Thresholds for step initiation induced by support-surface translation: a dynamic center-of-mass model provides much better prediction than a static model. J. Biomech. 33:387–392, 2000.
Pai, Y.-C., and J. Patton. Center of mass velocity-position predictions for balance control. J. Biomech. 30:347–354, 1997.
Pai, Y.-C., M. W. Rogers, J. Patton, T. D. Cain, and T. A. Hanke. Static versus dynamic predictions of protective stepping following waist-pull perturbations in young and older adults. J. Biomech. 30:347–354, 1998.
Pai, Y.-C., J. D. Wening, E. F. Runtz, K. Iqbal, and M. J. Pavol. Role of feedforward control of movement stability in reducing slip-related balance loss and falls among older adults. J. Neurophysiol. 90:755–762, 2003.
Patton, J. L., W. A. Lee, and Y.-C. Pai. Relative stability improves with experience in a dynamic standing task. Exp. Brain Res. 135:117–126, 2000.
Patton, J. L., Y.-C. Pai, and W. A. Lee. Evaluation of a model that determines the stability limits of dynamic balance. Gait Posture 9:38–49, 1999.
Piirtola, M., and P. Era. Force platform measurements as predictors of falls among older people—a review. Gerontology 52:1–16, 2006.
Pontaga, I. Ankle joint evertor-invertor muscle torque ratio decrease due to recurrent lateral ligament sprains. Clin. Biomech. 19:760–762, 2004.
Redfield, R., and M. L. Hull. On the relation between joint moments and pedaling rates at constant power in bicycling. J. Biomech. 19:317–330, 1986.
Resnick, N. M., and S. L. Greenspan. “Senile” osteoporosis reconsidered. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 261:1025–1029, 1989.
Saunders, J. B. d. M., V. T. Inman, and H. D. Eberhart. The major determinants in normal and pathological gait. J. Bone Joint Surg. 35:543–558, 1953.
Troy, K. L., S. J. Donovan, J. R. Marone, M. L. Bareither, and M. D. Grabiner. Modifiable performance domain risk-factors associated with slip-related falls. Gait Posture 28:461–465, 2008.
van Soest, A. J., and L. J. Casius. The merits of a parallel genetic algorithm in solving hard optimization problems. J. Biomech. Eng. 2003125:141–146, 2003.
Vukobratovic, M., and D. Juricic. Contribution to the Synthesis of the Biped Gait. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 16:1–6, 1969.
Winter, D. A. Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement. New York: Wiley, 277 pp., 1990.
Wu, Q., and R. Swain. A mathematical model of the stability control of human thorax and pelvis movements during walking. Comput. Methods Biomech. Biomed. Eng. 5:67–74, 2002.
Yang, F., F. C. Anderson, and Y.-C. Pai. Predicted threshold against backward balance loss in gait. J. Biomech. 40:804–811, 2007.
Yang, F., F. C. Anderson, and Y.-C. Pai. Predicted threshold against backward balance loss following a slip in gait. J. Biomech. 41:1823–1831, 2008.
Yang, F., T. Bhatt, and Y.-C. Pai. Role of stability and limb support in recovery against a fall following a novel slip induced in different daily activities. J. Biomech. 42:1903–1908, 2009.
Yang, F., F. Passariello, and Y.-C. Pai. Determination of instantaneous stability against backward balance loss: two computational approaches. J. Biomech. 41:1818–1822, 2008.
Acknowledgment
This work was funded by NIH 2R01-AG16727.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, F., Espy, D. & Pai, YC. Feasible Stability Region in the Frontal Plane During Human Gait. Ann Biomed Eng 37, 2606–2614 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9798-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9798-7