The Effect of Age, Walking Speed and the Morphological Growth of Lower Limbs on 4～6-year-old Children's Gait / 中国运动医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effect of age,walking speed and the morphological growth of lower limbs on 4～6 years old children's gait,so as to provide theoretical references for children's gait assessment and the design of a walker robot.Methods Totally one hundred and fifty-seven children ranging in age from 4 to 6 were selected as subjects in this research.Gait parameters were acquired by the 3D shooting technique,while the morphological indexes of the lower extremity,including the length A of the lower extremity,calf length,thigh circumference,pelvic width,width between two greater trochanters,foot length,foot girth and foot width,were measured.The differences of gait parameters among children of different ages and sexes were compared using the variance analysis.The step regression analysis was carried out to study the relationship between the walking speed and other gait parameters.The relationship between children's gait and morphology was analyzed using the canonical correlation analysis.Results The six-year-old children's gait cycle,step length and walking speed were significantly higher than those of four-and five-year-old children(P＜0.05).The swing phase percentage of six-year-old children was significantly higher than that of four-year-old ones(P＜0.05).The support percentage of six-year-old children was significantly lower than that of the four-year-old(P＜0.05).With the increase of the walking speed,young children's step length,cadence and percentage of the swing phase increased linearly.And the gait cycle,percentage of double support phase and percentage of the support phase decreased linearly with the increase of the walking speed.There was significant correlation between the lower extremity length A,calf length,width between two greater trochanters and step length for the children aged from four to six.Conclusion For children aged 4 to 6 years,the step length,walking speed and gait cycle increase continuously with the increment of age,whereas the cadence and percentage of the support phase decrease with the increment of age.The step speed is significantly correlated with other gait parameters such as the step length,cadence and gait cycle.The length of lower extremities,calf length and width between two greater trochanters are the main factors which affect the step length.