Abstract

MOCHIDA, Lígia Yumi; CESAR, Guilherme Manna; SANTIAGO, Paulo Roberto Pereira  and  COSTA, Paula Hentschel Lobo da. Estudo dinamométrico da marcha de idosas ultrapassando obstáculos. Rev. Bras. Educ. Fís. Esporte [online]. 2009, vol.23, n.01, pp.15-23. ISSN 1981-4690.

The present study aimed to investigate the gait during obstacle negotiation in physically active and in sedentary elderly women with the purpose of identifying adaptations performed by both groups when facing a more complex gait task. Twenty healthy participants were divided into active and sedentary groups. A force plate was used to assess the vertical orthogonal component of ground reaction forces during gait: peak and minimum forces, vertical impulse and foot support time. Such variables were analyzed during two distinct gait protocols: unobstructed gait and gait with obstacles positioned at 10%, 20%, and 30% of the participants lower limb height. The obstacle was also positioned prior to and after the force plate, so two different functions of the same lower limb were assessed. The results are presented in three sections: the first one describeed the two groups (no statistical difference observed), the second reported the effect of obstacle height (where the 10% height was already a challenging obstacle for the sedentary group), and the third compared the lower limb functions of primary and secondary support (no statistical difference observed). It was concluded that physical activity assisted on obstacle negotiation during gait. The sedentary elders opted to engage in a safer strategy of obstacle negotiation, observed by lesser magnitudes of the dynamometric variables along with the foot support time.

Keywords : Gait; Aging; Ground Reaction Force; Physical Activity; Obstacle Negotiation.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )