Active Arm Swing and Asymmetric Walking Leads to Increased Variability in Trunk Kinematics in Young Adults

Authors
Affiliation

Tarique Siragy

University of Ottawa

Cezar Mezher

University of Ottawa

Allen Hill

University of Ottawa

Julie Nantel

University of Ottawa

Published

January 23, 2020

Abstract
Fall induced injuries are a leading cause for occupational injuries with the majority originating from challenging same-level walking surfaces. Despite current perturbation and fall prevention paradigms, occupational fall prevalence remains stable. Typically, these paradigms do not account for arm swing which has been demonstrated to affect the center of mass’ movement during walking. This study examined the effect of different arm swing on postural control during symmetric and asymmetric walking. Fifteen healthy young adults (age = 23.4±2.8) walked symmetrically and asymmetrically with three arm motions (normal, held, and active) on a split-belt treadmill CAREN Extended-System (Motek Medical, Amsterdam, NL). Mean, standard deviation and maximal values of trunk linear and angular velocity, and whole-body angular momentum were calculated in all three axes; additionally, step length, time and width mean and Coefficient of Variation, Margin of Stability and Harmonic Ratios were calculated. Compared to normal and held conditions, active arm increased trunk linear and angular velocity standard deviation, max velocity values, mean step length and time, as well as the Coefficient of Variation for step length, time, and width. Furthermore, whole-body angular momentum increased as a function of arm swing amplitude. Active arm swing further reduced Harmonic Ratios in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions. Asymmetric walking increased average step time, and width as well as increased the Coefficient of Variation for step length and time but reduced left average step length and step width Coefficient of Variation. Further, asymmetric walking increased mediolateral Margin of Stability and reduced anteroposterior and mediolateral Harmonic Ratios. Finally, results demonstrated that actively increasing arm swing increases trunk linear and angular velocity variability in healthy young adults during symmetric and asymmetric treadmill walking. Findings may be due to active arm swing and asymmetric walking causing a disproportional contribution to trunk and center of mass movement causing participants to modify their base of support to maintain stability.
Keywords

postural control, asymmetric walking, arm swing, variability

Citation

BibTeX citation:
@article{siragy2020,
  author = {Siragy, Tarique and Mezher, Cezar and Hill, Allen and
    Nantel, Julie},
  title = {Active {Arm} {Swing} and {Asymmetric} {Walking} {Leads} to
    {Increased} {Variability} in {Trunk} {Kinematics} in {Young}
    {Adults}},
  journal = {Journal of Biomechanics},
  volume = {99},
  pages = {109529},
  date = {2020-01-23},
  url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021929019307833},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jbiomech.2019.109529},
  langid = {en},
  abstract = {Fall induced injuries are a leading cause for occupational
    injuries with the majority originating from challenging same-level
    walking surfaces. Despite current perturbation and fall prevention
    paradigms, occupational fall prevalence remains stable. Typically,
    these paradigms do not account for arm swing which has been
    demonstrated to affect the center of mass’ movement during walking.
    This study examined the effect of different arm swing on postural
    control during symmetric and asymmetric walking. Fifteen healthy
    young adults (age = 23.4±2.8) walked symmetrically and
    asymmetrically with three arm motions (normal, held, and active) on
    a split-belt treadmill CAREN Extended-System (Motek Medical,
    Amsterdam, NL). Mean, standard deviation and maximal values of trunk
    linear and angular velocity, and whole-body angular momentum were
    calculated in all three axes; additionally, step length, time and
    width mean and Coefficient of Variation, Margin of Stability and
    Harmonic Ratios were calculated. Compared to normal and held
    conditions, active arm increased trunk linear and angular velocity
    standard deviation, max velocity values, mean step length and time,
    as well as the Coefficient of Variation for step length, time, and
    width. Furthermore, whole-body angular momentum increased as a
    function of arm swing amplitude. Active arm swing further reduced
    Harmonic Ratios in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions.
    Asymmetric walking increased average step time, and width as well as
    increased the Coefficient of Variation for step length and time but
    reduced left average step length and step width Coefficient of
    Variation. Further, asymmetric walking increased mediolateral Margin
    of Stability and reduced anteroposterior and mediolateral Harmonic
    Ratios. Finally, results demonstrated that actively increasing arm
    swing increases trunk linear and angular velocity variability in
    healthy young adults during symmetric and asymmetric treadmill
    walking. Findings may be due to active arm swing and asymmetric
    walking causing a disproportional contribution to trunk and center
    of mass movement causing participants to modify their base of
    support to maintain stability.}
}
For attribution, please cite this work as:
Siragy, Tarique, Cezar Mezher, Allen Hill, and Julie Nantel. 2020. “Active Arm Swing and Asymmetric Walking Leads to Increased Variability in Trunk Kinematics in Young Adults.” Journal of Biomechanics 99 (January): 109529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2019.109529.