Velocity of the Body Center of Mass During Walking on Split-Belt Treadmill

Walking on split-belt treadmills (each belt rotating at a different velocity) has inspired a growing number of researchers to study gait adaptation and rehabilitation. An overlooked peculiarity of this artificial form of gait is that the mean velocity adopted by the participant, considered as a whole system represented by the body Center of Mass, can be different from the mean velocity of the two belts. Twelve healthy adults (21–34 yrs) were requested to walk for 15 mins on a treadmill with belts rotating at 0.4 and 1.2 m sec−1, respectively (mean = 0.8 m sec−1). Each belt was supported by four 3-dimensional force sensors. For each participant, six strides were analyzed during the 1st and the 15th minute of the trial. The mean Center of Mass velocity was computed as the sum of the velocities of each belt weighted by the percentage of time during which the resulting forces, underlying the accelerations of the Center of Mass, originated from each belt. Across early and late observations, the median Center of Mass velocities were 0.72 and 0.67 m sec−1, respectively (P

Source: American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation - May 27, 2021 Category: Rehabilitation Tags: Brief Report Source Type: research