Net ankle quasi-stiffness is influenced by walking speed but not age for older adult women.
John D Collins, Elisa S Arch, Jeremy R Crenshaw and 4 others
PMID 29609159WHAT IT FOUND
In healthy older women, ankle resistance during walking depended on walking speed, not age.
Slower walking meant less resistance. This suggests orthosis stiffness may need to be matched to speed, not age.
Key findings
01Ankle resistance during walking was related to walking speed, not age, in the analyzed older women.
02The ankle moment part of resistance tracked walking speed more strongly than age.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only community-dwelling, generally healthy older women who could walk a city block without a gait aid were studied, so it may not apply to men, younger adults, people with limited mobility, or patients with plantar flexor weakness. The study measured natural ankle stiffness during walking; it did not test whether using these values to set orthosis stiffness improves patient outcomes. The speed-based model explained only about 35% of variance in ankle resistance and had broad confidence intervals, so it is not precise enough for prescription. Age effects before 65 years could not be assessed. NAS was estimated with a linear fit despite curvature in the ankle moment-angle curve. 113 of 125 recruited were analyzed after exclusions.
Declared interests
The supplied text lists NIH extramural and U.S. government non-PHS research support. It does not include a conflict-of-interest declaration or statement about who wrote the manuscript.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the speed-based equation as a ready orthosis prescription. It was derived from healthy older women, not patients needing orthoses, and explained only about 35% of the variance in ankle stiffness.