Original articleMetabolic and Mechanical Energy Costs of Reducing Vertical Center of Mass Movement During Gait
Section snippets
Methods
We examined COM displacement, metabolic energy cost, and mechanical work performed at each joint during normal walking by able-bodied subjects. Vertical COM displacement was experimentally manipulated, first with visual feedback and second by control of stride length, and then compared against energy expenditure. We also performed inverse dynamic calculations to determine the work performed at each joint and the means by which subjects accomplished smooth walking.
Center of Mass Displacement
There was no difference between the force plate and segmental analysis methods for calculating vertical COM displacement at any of the 5 walking conditions (Holm-Sidak multiple comparison, P>.05). The single sacral marker method of calculating vertical COM displacement was different from the other 2 estimation methods during the 0.6, 1.0, and 1.2 PSL conditions (Holm-Sidak multiple comparison, P<.05). However, for the VFB condition, during which subjects used VFB about the sacral marker
Discussion
We sought to test whether reducing the vertical displacement of the COM improves walking economy in able-bodied subjects. Our results show that reduced COM displacement is not advantageous for either metabolic energy economy or the reduction of mechanical work at the joints. Energy expenditure increased whether subjects walked with shorter strides or by using VFB to reduce COM motion. The latter results agree with previous reports,5, 6 which are augmented here by the analysis of joint mechanics
Conclusions
The data reported here and elsewhere5, 6 do not support the hypothesis that it is energetically optimal to reduce COM displacement. Other studies31, 32, 33, 34, 35 also question whether several of the determinants actually contribute significantly to reducing COM displacement. Our data do indicate that substantial energy is expended for “production of rhythmic oscillations of the legs,”1(p553) but there is little evidence that it is “divided approximately equally” with other costs. This study
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2021, Journal of BiomechanicsCitation Excerpt :Consequently, the authors suggested that treatment planning should be informed by directly assessing energy expenditure rather than using gait kinematics and kinetics as predictors. Alternatively, Gordon et al. (2009) demonstrated that the metabolic demands of walking depend in part on work performed on the vertical displacement of the center of mass (COM). Further, Kurz et al. (2010) and Ries and Schwartz (2018) demonstrated that children with CP have a diminished ability to perform work to redirect the COM and are substantially less efficient at converting metabolic energy to COM work.
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