Human walking patterns change in the asymmetric walking conditions. It was reported that the kinematic patterns in walking on a split-belt treadmill are adapted and stored. The ground reaction forces have been used to represent and examine the walking...
Human walking patterns change in the asymmetric walking conditions. It was reported that the kinematic patterns in walking on a split-belt treadmill are adapted and stored. The ground reaction forces have been used to represent and examine the walking pattern and strategy as well as the kinematic data. In this study, we analyzed the ground reaction force (GRF) of walking on a split-belt treadmill to examine the adaptation and post-adaptation of the split-belt walking. Subject was instructed to walk on a split-belt treadmill for the baseline phases (“tied” conditions) with three different speeds, the adaptation phase (“split-belt” condition) and the post-adaptation phase (“tied” condition). The GRF data were measured by force plates. We compared the GRFs and impulses for each phase. The GRF changed significantly to decrease heel-strike impulse and to increase push-off impulse during adaptation and it affected the GRF of early post-adaptation phase. Results imply that the kinetic data are adapted and stored during walking on the split-belt treadmill. Additional analysis of another kinetic data, e.g. energy, could be helpful to explain the adaptation of GRF in walking on a split-belt treadmill.