Indexing walking ability from economy and control perspectives and exploring mechanisms for gait transition and optimal walking speeds

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K11541
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59020:Sports sciences-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu Sangyo University
• Principal Investigator: Abe Daijiro 九州産業大学, 健康・スポーツ科学センター, 准教授 (10368821)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 福岡 義之 同志社大学, スポーツ健康科学部, 教授 (20265028) ; 堀内 雅弘 山梨県富士山科学研究所, その他部局等, 研究員 (50310115) ; 西薗 秀嗣 九州産業大学, 人間科学部, 教授 (10125338) ; 本山 清喬 九州産業大学, 健康・スポーツ科学センター, 助教 (80824903)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 歩行 / gait transition / 経済速度 / 正弦波負荷法 / 免荷 / 筋電図 / 歩容調整 / 加齢

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Since modern humans are the only species that acquired erect bipedalism in a process of the evolution, its metabolic features are highly unique. There is a specific gait speed that can minimize the energy cost of walking, so called "economical speed (ES)". Another important one is the gait transition speed from walking to running. However, most of the already existing physiological indices cannot fully explain the mechanisms to determine the ES and/or gait transition speed. We firstly explored the mechanisms explaining the ES and gait transition speed using a custom-made body-weight support apparatus. We secondly explored gait stability with a sinusoidal speed-changing protocol (±2 km/h) at 30, 60, and 120 sec periods because it consecutively required adjusting the lower limbs. Summarizing the results of our investigations, we would like to propose some new indices to represent individual walking ability.

Free Research Field

運動科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

現生人類だけが獲得した直立二足歩行は必ずしも生物学的に理にかなったものではない。これまでバリアフリー化など様々な社会介入が試されてきたが、高齢者の転倒事故死亡者数は減るどころか過去20年間で2.3倍も増加した。これは交通事故死の3.3倍に相当する。本研究は直立二足歩行の特性を代謝と制御の両面から定量的に示すことに挑んだ。本研究の成果は運動習慣の重要性を社会喚起すること、さらに低体力者などの健康寿命延伸や介護負担軽減に貢献しうる。