Alternate stair descent strategies for reducing joint moment demands in older individuals

King, Stephanie L.; Underdown, Tobias; Reeves, Neil D.; Baltzopoulos, Vasilios; Maganaris, Constantinos N.

Abstract

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Descending stairs requires elevated joint moment-generating capability in the lower limbs, making it a challenging daily activity, particularly for older individuals. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of three different strategies for descending standard and increased height stairs: step-over-step (SoS), step-by-step (SbS) and side-step (SS) on lower limb kinetics in older people. Eleven participants (mean ± SD age: 74.8 ± 3.1 years, height: 1.63 ± 0.07 m, mass: 67.7 ± 9.5 kg) descended a four-step custom built instrumented staircase at a self-selected speed, adopting each of the three strategies, at two configurations: a step-rise height of 170 mm (standard; STD) and a step-rise height of 255 mm (increased; INC). 3D motion capture, synchronised with embedded force plates enabled the calculation of joint kinetics of lead and trail limbs. Data were analysed using a Linear Mixed Model with gait speed selected as a covariate during weight acceptance (WA) and controlled lowering (CL) phases. A large increase in hip extensor moment in both WA and CL in the lead limb was evident during both SoS and SbS at INC step height compared to STD (P

Citation

King, S. L., Underdown, T., Reeves, N. D., Baltzopoulos, V., & Maganaris, C. N. (2018). Alternate stair descent strategies for reducing joint moment demands in older individuals. Journal of biomechanics, 78, 126-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.07.029

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 23, 2018
• Publication Date: Sep 10, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 30, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 11, 2019
• Print ISSN: 0021-9290
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 78
• Pages: 126-133
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.07.029
• Keywords: Biophysics; Rehabilitation; Orthopedics and Sports Medicine; Biomedical Engineering
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/950884
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021929018306110?dgcid=rss_sd_all
• Contract Date: Jul 30, 2018