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Older women strongly prefer stride lengthening to shortening in avoiding obstacles

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Abstract

In the present study the obstacle avoidance strategy during treadmill walking was investigated in ten young (aged 19–32) and ten older females (aged 65–78). Minimisation of displacement of the foot from its original landing position has been proposed to be the main criterion for the selection of alternate foot placement. Each participant performed 60 obstacle avoidance trials. Foot–obstacle configurations were varied in order to obtain both lengthening and shortening avoidance reactions. For each trial it was calculated how much lengthening and how much shortening of the stride was required minimally for successful avoidance. The difference between required lengthening and required shortening was expressed as a percentage of the control stride length and was used as a measure of minimal displacement. The behavior of young females was in agreement with the minimal displacement criterion. The older females, however, exhibited a strong preference for stride lengthening, even in situations in which stride shortening would be highly favorable. The explanation for the long step strategy preference of the older females is discussed in terms of age-related changes in decision-making, differences between young and older persons in the unobstructed gait pattern, and safety considerations.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Inger Sierevelt for her help in the data collection. This study was supported by the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO), the Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences (IFKB), and an EU grant (Eurokinesis).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sint-Maartenskliniek Research B.V., P.O. Box 9011, 6500, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    V. Weerdesteyn, B. Nienhuis & J. Duysens

  2. Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    V. Weerdesteyn

  3. Institute of Movement Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    T. Mulder

  4. Department of Biophysics, University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    J. Duysens

  5. Department of Rehabilitation, University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    J. Duysens

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  1. V. Weerdesteyn
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  2. B. Nienhuis
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  3. T. Mulder
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  4. J. Duysens
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Correspondence to V. Weerdesteyn.

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Weerdesteyn, V., Nienhuis, B., Mulder, T. et al. Older women strongly prefer stride lengthening to shortening in avoiding obstacles. Exp Brain Res 161, 39–46 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-004-2043-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-004-2043-6

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