How humans walk: bout duration, steps per bout, and rest duration

Much is known about human walking, but it is not known how walking is used during typical activities. Since improving walking ability is a key goal in many surgical, pharmacological, and physiotherapeutic interventions, understanding typical community mobility demands regarding the length of walking...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rehabilitation research and development 2008-01, Vol.45 (7), p.1077-1090
Main Authors: Orendurff, Michael S, Schoen, Jason A, Bernatz, Greta C, Segal, Ava D, Klute, Glenn K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Amputation
Cohort Studies
Demand
Gait
Gait - physiology
Health aspects
Humans
Middle Aged
Monitoring, Ambulatory
Mortality
Older people
Physiological aspects
Prostheses
Reference Values
Studies
Walking
Walking - physiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Much is known about human walking, but it is not known how walking is used during typical activities. Since improving walking ability is a key goal in many surgical, pharmacological, and physiotherapeutic interventions, understanding typical community mobility demands regarding the length of walking bouts, the number of sequential steps frequently performed, and the duration of common nonwalking (rest) behavior seems prudent. This study documents the gait of daily living in 10 nondisabled employed adults to define walking bout duration, sequential step counts, and length of rest periods over a 2-week period. Subjects wore a StepWatch Activity Monitor (OrthoCare Innovations; Mountlake Terrace, Washington) that counted steps in each 10-second time window. Custom code summed sequential steps, periods of walking behavior (bouts), and periods without steps (rest). Sixty percent of all walking bouts lasted just 30 seconds or less; a 2-minute walking bout was just 1 percent of total walking bouts. Forty percent of all walking bouts were less than 12 steps in a row, and 75 percent of all walking bouts were less than 40 steps in a row. Rest periods were predominantly very short, with half of all rests periods lasting 20 seconds or less. The community mobility demand for nondisabled employed adults appears to involve frequent short-duration walking behavior with low numbers of sequential steps strung together and many short-duration nonwalking (rest) behaviors.
ISSN:0748-7711
1938-1352
DOI:10.1682/jrrd.2007.11.0197