Article

The present study sought to use stilt walking as a model to uncover modifications
to gait dynamics caused by changes in lower limb anthropometrics. We examined 10
novice and 10 expert stilt walkers, each walking with and without stilts, to
determine the specific adaptations brought about by experience. Three-dimensional
kinematics and force platform data were used to calculate the intersegmental
forces, net joint moments and moment powers at the ankle, knee and hip.
Spatio-temporal data were computed to aid the interpretation of these data.
Non-dimensional scaling was used to facilitate comparison between stilt- and
normal-walking. In general, the stilts induced largely the same alterations in
the locomotor patterns of both novices and experts, which did not allow for the
conclusion that the experts employed locomotor dynamics that were better suited
to the challenges imposed by alterations to limb length, mass and mass moment of
inertia induced by the stilts. Nevertheless, the experts exhibited a lesser
reduction in dimensionless stride length and velocity and generated larger
concentric knee flexor and hip extensor powers, relative to the novices, which
may be indicative of enhanced dynamic stability control.
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Langue : ANGLAIS