Effects of Load Carriage on Postural Control and Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters during Level and Uphill Walking

Load carriage and uphill walking are conditions that either individually or in combination can compromise postural control and gait eliciting several musculoskeletal low back and lower limb injuries. The objectives of this study were to investigate postural control responses and spatiotemporal param...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-01, Vol.23 (2), p.609
Main Authors: Mexi, Asimina, Kafetzakis, Ioannis, Korontzi, Maria, Karagiannakis, Dimitris, Kalatzis, Perikles, Mandalidis, Dimitris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Back injuries
Back pain
backpack
Backpacks
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
Body weight
EMG activity
erector spinae
Fitness equipment
front pack
Gait
Gait - physiology
gait analysis
Gait recognition
Humans
Injuries
Load
Postural Balance - physiology
Posture
Research methodology
trunk sway
Walking
Walking - physiology
Weight-Bearing - physiology
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Summary:Load carriage and uphill walking are conditions that either individually or in combination can compromise postural control and gait eliciting several musculoskeletal low back and lower limb injuries. The objectives of this study were to investigate postural control responses and spatiotemporal parameters of gait during level and uphill unloaded (UL), back-loaded (BL), and front-loaded (FL) walking. Postural control was assessed in 30 asymptomatic individuals by simultaneously recording (i) EMG activity of neck, thoracic and lumbar erector spinae, and rectus abdominis, (ii) projected 95% ellipse area as well as the anteroposterior and mediolateral trunk displacement, and (iii) spatiotemporal gait parameters (stride/step length and cadence). Measurements were performed during level (0%) and uphill (5, 10, and 15%) walking at a speed of 5 km h without and with a suspended front pack or a backpack weighing 15% of each participant's body weight. The results of our study showed that postural control, as indicated by increased erector spinae EMG activity and changes in spatiotemporal parameters of gait that manifested with decreased stride/step length and increased cadence, is compromised particularly during level and uphill FL walking as opposed to BL or UL walking, potentially increasing the risk of musculoskeletal and fall-related injuries.
ISSN:1424-8220
1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s23020609