Comparative Analysis of Gait Parameters and Symmetry between Preferred Walking Speed and Walking Speed by using the Froude Number = Comparative Analysis of Gait Parameters and Symmetry between Preferred Walking Speed and Walking Speed by using the Froude Number

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in gait parameters and symmetrybetween walking speed by using the Froude number and preferred walking speed.Method: Fifty adults (age: 21.0 ± 1.7 years, body weight: 71.0 ± 9.2 kg, height: 1.75 ± 0.07 m, leg length:0.89 ± 0.05 m) participated in this study. Leg length-applied walking speed was calculated by using theFroude number, defined as Fr = v2/gL, where v is the velocity, g is the gravitational acceleration, and L isthe leg length. Video data were collected by using eight infrared cameras (Oqus 300, Qualysis, Sweden) andthe Qualisys Track Manager software (Qualisys, Sweden), with a 200-Hz sampling frequency during twospeedwalking (preferred walking speed [PS] and leg length-applied walking speed [LS]) on a treadmill(Instrumented Treadmill, Bertec, USA). The step length, stride length, support percentage, cadence, lowerjoint angle, range of motion (ROM), and symmetry index were then calculated by using the Matlab R2009asoftware.Results: Step and stride lengths were greater in LS than in PS (p < 0.05). The right single-support percentagewas greater in LS than in PS (p < 0.05). The hip joint angle at heel contact and toe-off were greater in LSthan in PS (p < 0.05). The hip and knee joint ROM were greater in LS than in PS (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Based on our findings, we suggest that increased walking speed had a significant effect onstep length, stride length, support percentage, and lower joint ROM.