Muscle metabolic energy costs while modifying propulsive force generation during walking

Abstract

We pose that an age-related increase in the metabolic cost of walking arises in part from a redistribution of joint power where muscles spanning the hip compensate for insufficient ankle push-off and smaller peak propulsive forces (F_P). Young adults elicit a similar redistribution when walking with smaller F_P via biofeedback. We used targeted F_P biofeedback and musculoskeletal models to estimate the metabolic costs of operating lower limb muscles in young adults walking across a range of F_P. Our simulations support the theory of distal-to-proximal redistribution of joint power as a determinant of increased metabolic cost in older adults during walking.

Keywords:

• Modeling
• biofeedback
• treadmill
• redistribution
• aging
• power

Acknowledgements

We thank our participants for donating their time to participate in this study. We also thank Emily McCain, Rebecca Krupenevich, Gabriella Diaz, and Sidney Baudendistel for their expertise and assistance in study design, data collection, data processing, and modeling procedures.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01AG058615) and Parkinson’s Foundation (PF-VSA-SFW-1908).