Fatigue affects gait characteristics

NewsBot · Sep 29, 2007

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Physical fatigue affects gait characteristics in older persons.
Helbostad JL, Leirfall S, Moe-Nilssen R, Sletvold O.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007 Sep;62(9):1010-5. Links

Background. Fatigue affects self-reported functioning in older persons. Balance and gait problems increase fall risk. The effect of physical fatigue in the elderly population in general, and on balance control during walking in particular is not well known. This study investigates how a repeated sit-to-stand task affects gait control in older persons.

Methods. Twenty-two persons (mean age 78 years) took part in a fatigue group (FG), and 22 persons (mean age 80 years) in a matched control group (CG). Participants walked back and forth on a walkway at different walking speeds. Gait data were adjusted for pretest-posttest differences in walking speed. The FG participants were physically fatigued by a repeated sit-to-stand task. Trunk data were obtained by a triaxial accelerometer and foot level data by an electronic walkway.

Results. There were no group differences in preferred gait speed (p =.96) or in step length (p =.47) following the fatiguing task, but there were significant increases in step width (p =.023) and in mediolateral trunk acceleration amplitude (p =.038) in the FG group. Step-length variability (p =.004) and interstride trunk acceleration variability in the vertical direction (p =.002) increased, and tended to increase in the anteroposterior direction (p =.10) and to decrease in the mediolateral direction (p =.10) in the FG only.

Conclusion. Gait changes following a physical fatiguing task agree with changes previously found in older persons at risk of falling, suggesting that physical fatigue may represent a risk factor for falls in elderly persons
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Admin2 · Sep 29, 2007

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NewsBot · Aug 16, 2008

Muscle fatigue degrades force sense at the ankle joint
Nicolas Vuillerme and Matthieu Boisgontier
Gait & Posture Volume 28, Issue 3, October 2008, Pages 521-524

To investigate the effects of muscle fatigue on force sense at the ankle joint, 10 young healthy adults were asked to perform an isometric contra-lateral force ankle-matching task in two experimental conditions of: (1) no-fatigue and (2) fatigue of the plantar–flexor muscles. Measures of the overall accuracy and the variability of the force matching performances were determined using the absolute error and the variable error, respectively. Results showed less accurate and less consistent force matching performances in the fatigue than no fatigue condition, as indicated by decreased absolute and variable errors, respectively. The present findings evidence that muscle fatigue degrades force sense at the ankle joint.
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Admin2 · Aug 16, 2008

Related:
Other threads on the effects of fatigue

NewsBot · Jul 29, 2010

The effects of running in an exerted state on lower extremity kinematics and joint timing.
Dierks TA, Davis IS, Hamill J.
J Biomech. 2010 Jul 19.

Runners rarely run to the point of maximum fatigue or exhaustion. However, no studies have investigated how the level of exertion associated with a typical running session influences running mechanics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that running in an exerted state had on the kinematics and joint timing within the lower extremity of uninjured, recreational runners. Twenty runners performed a prolonged treadmill run at a self-selected pace that best represented each runner's typical training run. The run ended based on heart rate or perceived exertion levels that represented a typical training run. Kinematics and joint timing between the foot, knee, and hip were analyzed at the beginning and end of the run. Increases were primarily observed at the end of the run for the peak angles, excursions, and peak velocities of eversion, tibial internal rotation, and knee internal rotation. No differences were observed for knee flexion, hip internal rotation, or any joint timing relationship. Based on these results, runners demonstrated subtle changes in kinematics in the exerted state, most notably for eversion. However, runners were able to maintain joint timing throughout the leg, which may have been a function of the knee. Thus, uninjured runners normally experience small alterations in kinematics when running with typical levels of exertion. It remains unknown how higher levels of exertion influence kinematics with joint timing and the association with running injuries, or how populations with running injuries respond to typical levels of exertio
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NewsBot · May 13, 2011

Changes in Footprint with Resistance Exercise.
Jimenez-Ormeño E, Aguado X, Delgado-Abellan L, Mecerreyes L, Alegre LM.
Int J Sports Med. 2011 May 11. [Epub ahead of print]

We aimed to describe the changes in footprint characteristics after 2 types of resistance training sessions performed at different intensities. 18 young subjects (8 men and 10 women) volunteered for the study. All of them performed 2 different resistance training sessions, one with light loads (LS) and the other with heavy loads (HS). Their footprint was recorded and analysed before and after exercise. Lengths, widths, and areas of the footprint (rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot) were measured. Almost all the variables significantly increased after both sessions. The greatest changes were found in the midfoot (area, LS: 10.4%; HS: 8.1%, P<0.0005; width, LS: 7.5%, P=0.002, and HS: 8%, P<0.0005). However, there were no significant differences between post-exercise data from both sessions. The variable that showed the smallest changes was the foot length (LS: 0.3%, P=0.023; HS: -0.4%, P=0.549). A resistance training session led to increases in most of the dimensions of the footprint, regardless of the magnitude of the loads handled. The greatest changes were found in the midfoot, indicating that the foot was flatter after exercise, and the foot changed more in width than in length.
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NewsBot · Mar 1, 2012

Influence of fatigue and load carriage on mechanical loading during walking.
Wang H, Frame J, Ozimek E, Leib D, Dugan EL.
Mil Med. 2012 Feb;177(2):152-6.

Load carriage and muscular fatigue are two major stressors experienced by military recruits during basic training. The purpose of this study was to assess the influences of load carriage and muscular fatigue on ground reaction forces and ground reaction loading rates during walking. Eighteen healthy males performed the following tasks in order: unloaded and unfatigued walking, loaded and unfatigued walking, fatiguing exercise, loaded and fatigued walking, and unloaded and fatigued walking. The fatiguing exercise consisted of a series of metered step-ups and heel raises with a 16-kg rucksack. Loaded walking tasks were performed with a 32-kg rucksack. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variances were used to determine the effects of fatigue and load carriage on ground reaction forces and loading rates. Muscular fatigue has a significant influence on peak vertical ground reaction force and loading rate (p < 0.01). Load carriage has a significant influence on peak ground reaction forces and loading rates (p < 0.001). As both muscular fatigue and load carriage lead to large increases of ground reaction forces and loading rates, the high incidence of lower extremity overuse injuries in the military may be associated with muscular fatigue and load carriage.
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NewsBot · Dec 26, 2013

Differential effects of fatigue on movement variability
N. Cortes, J. Onate, S. Morrison
Gait & Posture; Article in Press

When individuals perform purposeful actions to fatigue, there is typically a general decline in their movement performance. This study was designed to investigate the effects exercise-induced fatigue has on lower limb kinetics and kinematics during a side-step cutting task. In particular, it was of interest to determine what changes could be seen in mean amplitude and all metrics of signal variability with fatigue. The results of the study revealed that post-fatigue there was an overall decrease in absolute force production as reflected by a decline in mean amplitude and variability (SD) of the ground reaction forces (GRFV and GRFML). A decrease in mean and SD of the knee moments were also observed post-exercise. Interestingly, this trend was not mirrored by similar changes in time-dependent properties of these signals. Instead, there was an increase in the SampEn values (reflecting a more variable, irregular signal) for GRF force profiles, knee kinematics and moments following the exercise-induced fatigue. These results illustrate that fatigue can have differential effects on movement variability, resulting in a both an increase and decrease in movement variability, depending on the variable selected. Thus, the impact of fatigue is not simply restricted to a decline in force producing capacity of the system but more importantly it demonstrates that the ability of the person to perform a smooth and controlled action is limited due to fatigue.
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Highlights
•The effect of fatigue on variability during a cutting action was assessed.
•Exercise-induced fatigue has a differential effect on movement variability.
•Variability of ground reaction force and knee moments decreased following fatigue.
•Time-dependent measures of variability increased with fatigue.
•The increase in signal complexity post-fatigue reflected a decline in coordination.
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NewsBot · Nov 17, 2014

Effects of walking-induced fatigue on gait function and tripping risks in older adults.
Nagano H, James L, Sparrow WA, Begg RK.
J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2014 Nov 15;11(1):155

BACKGROUND:
Fatigue and ageing contribute to impaired control of walking and are linked to falls. In this project, fatigue was induced by maximum speed walking to examine fatigue effects on lower limb trajectory control and associated tripping risk and overall gait functions of older adults.
METHODS:
Eleven young (18-35 years) and eleven older adults (>65 years) conducted 5-minute preferred speed treadmill walking prior to and following 6-minute maximum fast walking. Spatio-temporal gait parameters and minimum foot clearance (MFC) were obtained. Maximal muscle strength (hamstrings and quadriceps) was measured on an isokinetic dynamometer. Heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) assessed physiological effort and subjective fatigue. Physiological Cost Index computed walking efficiency.
RESULTS:
Fatigue due to fast walking increased step length, double support time and variability of step width. Only older adults reduced MFC due to fatigue. A trend of longer double support with greater MFC was found in the non-dominant limb. Lower walking efficiency was characterised as the ageing effect. Older adults did not increase HR during fast walking but higher RPE scores were observed.
CONCLUSIONS:
Older adults can increase tripping risk by 6 minutes of fast walking possibly by both impaired walking efficiency based on cardiac capacity and higher perceived fatigue due to elevated caution level. Regardless of age, increased step width variability due to fatigue was observed, a sign of impaired balance. Longer double support and greater MFC observed in the older adults' non-dominant limb could be an asymmetrical gait adaptation for safety.
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