FRANZ,J.R.Theage-associated reduction in propulsive power generation in walking. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev.,Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 129–136, 2016. Propulsive power generation during push-off in walking decreases with advancing age. A common explanation is an accommodation for sarcopenia and muscle weakness. Yet, muscle strengthening often yields disappointing outcomes for walking performance. We examin...

Biped robots that are expected to locomote in human environments require whole-body controllers that can offer precise tracking and well-defined disturbance rejection behavior. Although walking is a complex dynamical task involving both hybrid dynamics and underactuation, it is unclear the level of complexity needed to generate and execute these tasks. Previously in [4], we experimentally evalu...

Mechanically, the most economical gait for slow bipedal locomotion requires walking as an 'inverted pendulum', with: I, an impulsive, energy-dissipating leg compression at the beginning of stance; II, a stiff-limbed vault; and III, an impulsive, powering push-off at the end of stance. The characteristic 'M'-shaped vertical ground reaction forces of walking in humans reflect this impulse-vault-i...

Individuals with below knee amputation exert more effort during walking than their able-bodied counterparts [1]. This increased effort may partially be due to increased balancerelated effort, especially while walking on challenging terrain [2]. Recently, we found that balance-related effort can be reduced by modulating ankle push-off work with a robotic ankle-foot prosthesis [3]. In doing so, w...

PURPOSE Recovery of walking outdoors after hip fracture is important for equal participation in the community. The causes of poor recovery are not fully understood. This study investigates recovery of walking outdoors and associated determinants after hip fracture. METHODS A prospective follow-up study, among clinical sample of 81 community-dwelling hip fracture patients over 60 years. Percei...

It could be hypothesized that when walking in a linear direction, the most efficient strategy would be to focus the force created by the push-off in the absolute opposite direction to the direction of propulsion. Forces in a medial or lateral direction could then be considered as loss of efficiency since these forces do not create movement in the intended direction. The aim of this study was to...

This study investigated the effect of both walking speed and external ankle load on the kinetic patterns of treadmill walking in preadolescents with and without Down syndrome (DS). Ten preadolescents with DS and ten age- and gender-matched children with typical development (TD) participated in this study. We manipulated two treadmill speeds and two external ankle loads. Treadmill speeds were eq...