Walking Speed Alters Barefoot Gait Coordination and Variability

Abstract

Using the dynamic system approach, we examined the pattern and variability of inter-joint coordination in barefoot and shod walking in 20 women at three speeds: SLOW, FAST, and comfortable walking speed (CWS). We found that barefoot and shod walking used different coordination strategies to cope with increasing walking speed. As walking speed increased, ankle-knee coordination patterns between shod and barefoot became less different (p < 0.00001), and ankle-hip coordination patterns became more different (p < 0.001). Compared to shod, barefoot walking had significantly lower coordination variability in mid stance of knee-hip at CWS and FAST and late swing of ankle-hip at SLOW and CWS with medium effect (effect size 0.61–0.74). Future research should investigate the connection between the decreased coordination variability and joint tissue stress to understand the impact of barefoot walking on the lower extremity joints.

Keywords:

• barefoot walking
• gait coordination
• coordination variability

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Z. Wang and K. Worthey for their work to collect the kinematics data and the participants for their time. PAK thanks S.K. Benirschke, MD, the Jerome Debs Chair in Orthopaedics Research for many hours of discussion about foot and ankle mechanics.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

FUNDING

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.