Article

The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the influence of various
walking surfaces and footwear characteristics on the ability to terminate gait
rapidly in 10 young and 26 older people. Subjects walked at a self-selected speed
in eight randomized shoe conditions (standard versus elevated heel, soft sole,
hard sole, high-collar, flared sole, bevelled heel and tread sole) on three
surfaces: control, irregular and wet. In response to an audible cue, subjects
were required to stop as quickly as possible in three out of eight walking trials
in each condition. Time to last foot contact, total stopping time, stopping
distance, number of steps to stop, step length and step width post-cue and base
of support length at total stop were calculated from kinematic data collected
using two CODA scanner units. The older subjects took more time and a longer
distance to last foot contact and were more frequently classified as using a
three or more-steps stopping strategy compared to the young subjects. The wet
surface impeded gait termination, as indicated by greater total stopping time and
stopping distance. Subjects required more time to terminate gait in the soft sole
shoes compared to the standard shoes. In contrast, the high-collar shoes reduced
total stopping time on the wet surface. These findings suggest that older adults
have more difficulty terminating gait rapidly than their younger counterparts and
that footwear is likely to influence whole-body stability during challenging
postural tasks on wet surfaces.

Langue : ANGLAIS