Stiff-knee gait is a movement abnormality in which knee flexion during swing phase is significantly diminished. This study investigates the relationships between knee flexion velocity at toe-off, joint moments during swing phase and double support, and improvements in stiff-knee gait following rectus femoris transfer surgery in subjects with cerebral palsy. Forty subjects who underwent a rectus...

During overground or treadmill walking, the stance phase and cycle durations are reduced as speed increases, whereas swing phase duration remains relatively invariant. When the speed of the left and right sides is unequal, as is the case during split-belt locomotion or when walking along a circular path, adjustments in stance and swing phases are observed, which could alter the phase/cycle dura...

It has historically been believed that the role of arm motion during walking is related to balancing. Arm motion during natural walking is distinguished in that each arm swing is with the motion of the opposing leg. Although this arm swing motion is generated naturally during bipedal walking, it is interesting to note that the arm swing motion is not necessary for stable walking. This paper att...

Active control of the mediolateral location of the feet is an important component of a stable bipedal walking pattern, although the roles of sensory feedback in this process are unclear. In the present experiments, we tested whether hip abductor proprioception influenced the control of mediolateral gait motion. Participants performed a series of quiet standing and treadmill walking trials. In s...

1. The phase-dependent modulation of medium-latency (P2) (70-80 ms) responses in semitendinosus (ST), biceps femoris (BF), rectus femoris (RF), and tibialis anterior (TA) was studied with the use of low-intensity stimulation (2 times perception threshold) of the sural nerve. The shocks were given in a random order at 16 phases of the step cycle in 10 normal subjects during forward walking (FW) ...

It is well recognised that the hamstrings are susceptible to acute strain injury during high-speed running. However, the particular phase of the sprinting gait cycle at which hamstring injury occurs remains a debated topic. Video footage and athlete anecdotes have contributed to the discussion, but do not provide suffi cient temporal resolution to fully answer the question. In this paper, we br...

The aims of this study were to investigate the functions of muscle torque and its relation to other torque components during sprinting stance and swing phases. Three-dimensional kinematics and ground reaction force data were collected from eight elite male sprinters performing maximal-effort sprinting on a synthetic track. Intersegmental dynamics approach (ISD) was used to quantify lower extrem...

Inadequate peak knee extension during the swing phase of gait is a major deficit in individuals with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). The biomechanical mechanisms responsible for knee extension have not been thoroughly examined in CP. The purpose of this study was to assess the contributions of joint moments and gravity to knee extension acceleration during swing in children with spastic hemiplegic...