Aging Alters Joint Power Generation across a Range of Gait Speeds in Healthy Elderly

Abstract

There is no general consensus as to why gait dysfunctions (e.g. slower speed, shorter steps, increased cadence) emerge in healthy older adults (OLD). Although previous work has shown that OLD move joint power generation toward the hip and the knee joints, these investigations have not controlled or matched speed, so the changes observed may not be due to aging. The aim of this investigation was to conduct a rigorous and systematic investigation of lower limb joint power in OLD, compared to young adults (YG), when walking at matched speeds. Six older adults (67 ± 5 years) and 6 young adults (26 ± 3 years) participated in this study. The participants' walking speed was controlled for speeds of..