Citation

Lee SW, Verghese J, Holtzer R, Mahoney JR, Oh-Park M. Gait Posture 2014; 40(4): 676-681.

Affiliation

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 110 East 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467, United States; The Division of Cognitive and Motor Aging, Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, United States; Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2014.07.023

PMID

25155693

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish quantitative norms for trunk sway during walking for older male and female ambulatory adults at different age groups (65-70, 71-75, 76-80, ≥81). We also assessed the relationship between dynamic trunk sway and gait velocity in older individuals with clinically normal or abnormal gaits. Trunk sway in medio-lateral (roll) and antero-posterior (pitch) planes was measured using a body-mounted gyroscope (SwayStar) during walking on a 4.5m long instrumented walkway. Of the 284 older adults (mean age 76.8, 54.6% women) in this sample, the mean±SD value of roll and pitch angles were 6.0±2.0° and 6.7±2.2° respectively. Older women showed significantly greater trunk sway in both roll and pitch angles than older men (p<0.01). In both men and women, there was no significant association of roll angle with age although gait velocity decreased with increasing age. The relationship between roll angle and gait velocity was U-shaped for the overall sample. Among the subgroup with clinically normal gait, increased roll angle was associated with increased gait velocity (p<0.001). However, there was no significant relationship between roll angle and gait velocity among the subgroup with abnormal gait. Therefore, the relationship between medio-lateral trunk sway and gait velocity differs depending on whether gait is clinically normal. We conclude that trunk sway during walking should be interpreted with consideration of both gait velocity and presence of gait abnormality in older adults.

Language: en