TY - JOUR
T1 - Gait dynamics, fractals and falls
T2 - Finding meaning in the stride-to-stride fluctuations of human walking
AU - Hausdorff, Jeffrey M.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author is indebted to Drs. Goldberger, Peng and Giladi for their invaluable collaborative efforts as well as to Tuli Herman and many others who have contributed to the work that is the basis of this review. This work was supported in part by NIH grants AG-14100, RR-13622, HD-39838 and AG-08812, by the European Union Sixth Framework Program, FET contract no. 018474-2, Dynamic Analysis of Physiological Networks (DAPHNet), and by the National Parkinson Foundation.
PY - 2007/8
Y1 - 2007/8
N2 - Until recently, quantitative studies of walking have typically focused on properties of a typical or average stride, ignoring the stride-to-stride fluctuations and considering these fluctuations to be noise. Work over the past two decades has demonstrated, however, that the alleged noise actually conveys important information. The magnitude of the stride-to-stride fluctuations and their changes over time during a walk - gait dynamics - may be useful in understanding the physiology of gait, in quantifying age-related and pathologic alterations in the locomotor control system, and in augmenting objective measurement of mobility and functional status. Indeed, alterations in gait dynamics may help to determine disease severity, medication utility, and fall risk, and to objectively document improvements in response to therapeutic interventions, above and beyond what can be gleaned from measures based on the average, typical stride. This review discusses support for the idea that gait dynamics has meaning and may be useful in providing insight into the neural control of locomotion and for enhancing functional assessment of aging, chronic disease, and their impact on mobility.
AB - Until recently, quantitative studies of walking have typically focused on properties of a typical or average stride, ignoring the stride-to-stride fluctuations and considering these fluctuations to be noise. Work over the past two decades has demonstrated, however, that the alleged noise actually conveys important information. The magnitude of the stride-to-stride fluctuations and their changes over time during a walk - gait dynamics - may be useful in understanding the physiology of gait, in quantifying age-related and pathologic alterations in the locomotor control system, and in augmenting objective measurement of mobility and functional status. Indeed, alterations in gait dynamics may help to determine disease severity, medication utility, and fall risk, and to objectively document improvements in response to therapeutic interventions, above and beyond what can be gleaned from measures based on the average, typical stride. This review discusses support for the idea that gait dynamics has meaning and may be useful in providing insight into the neural control of locomotion and for enhancing functional assessment of aging, chronic disease, and their impact on mobility.
KW - Aging
KW - Executive function
KW - Falls
KW - Fractals
KW - Gait
KW - Gait variability
KW - Parkinson's disease
KW - Review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548216348&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.humov.2007.05.003
DO - 10.1016/j.humov.2007.05.003
M3 - ???researchoutput.researchoutputtypes.contributiontojournal.article???
C2 - 17618701
AN - SCOPUS:34548216348
SN - 0167-9457
VL - 26
SP - 555
EP - 589
JO - Human Movement Science
JF - Human Movement Science
IS - 4
ER -