Three-dimensional motion analysis of the trailing limb in obstacle crossing during gait in young adults: foot trajectory changes with the height of obstacles.
Takeaki Kasuga, Hikaru Hagiwara, Yoshiyuki Suzuki and 1 others
PMID 40895765WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy young adults kept the trailing foot's clearance about the same as obstacles rose, but the foot stayed in the air longer and its path shifted from two peaks to one peak at higher obstacles.
Key findings
01Trailing foot clearance was higher during obstacle crossing than during normal walking, but did not differ among obstacle heights.
02The time the trailing foot spent swinging was longer for higher obstacles, and it was longer than walking from the 20% obstacle height upward.
03The trailing foot's path changed from two peaks to one peak as obstacle height increased, with some single-peak patterns from 30% upward.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 12 healthy young adults were tested, so the findings may not apply to older adults or people with disabilities. Each condition was measured once, and no practice trials were given. The study measured only toe and heel marker distances and foot path shape. It did not measure joint alignment, electromyography, or floor reaction forces. The authors noted that power was inadequate for some measurements. The foot trajectory shift was described as a trend, and the paper did not establish a clear cutoff for when a single-peak path should be expected.
Declared interests
The authors stated there are no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use these foot path patterns to set obstacle height for older or disabled patients. The study included only 12 healthy young adults, and the authors said it may not be directly applicable to elderly participants.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →