Changes in Spatiotemporal Differences Between the Sexes due to Paired Walking
Abstract
As social beings, much of our everyday lives are spent in interaction with others, yet the vast majority of gait studies examine solo walking without any distraction. It is largely unknown how walking in a dyad, both with and without talking, affects gait speed, cadence, and step length of adults; however, these same metrics dictate design parameters for widely varying fields from rehabilitation goals and ergonomic environments to animation models and surveillance objectives. This study examined the differences in spatiotemporal metrics between solo and paired walking for same- and opposite-sex pairs while using talking as a method of distraction. Results from 12 female-female (F-F), 10 female-male (F-M), and 12 male-male (M-M) pairs were analyzed. Significant changes from solo walking were only found with opposite-sex pairs (p<0.05), with women (F-M/female) increasing speed and men (F-M/male) decreasing speed. Unlike solo walking, changes in speed during paired walking were driven by alterations to step length with very minimal change in cadence. When subjects were directed to talk while walking, both solo and as a pair, gait speed decreased significantly by 4-5%. Because significant changes were observed in paired versus solo walking, both with and without distraction, there may be reason to reevaluate and develop environment-specific rehabilitation goals and normative metrics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 29, 2016
- Accession Number
- ADA637020
Entities
People
- Charles Goodyear
- Dustin Bruening
- Rebecca Frimenko
Organizations
- Infoscitex Corporation