Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the gait patterns of young and elderly people. The subjects were fifteen young males (mean age ±1SD; 19.6±1.9) and 4 elderly males (68.8±4.1). "Step widths" were configured in 3 types. The marker of the right shoulder and the center between the left and right shoulders were analyzed for the migration of the length generated by wobbling of the body trunk from right to left, which we termed the sideways "rolling index." Additionally we corrected the marker of data by an axis line. The center between the right and left shoulders formed a rolling index for "from right to left" on the 40cm step width, which was larger for the younger group than for the elderly group (F_<(1,51)>=3.45, p<0.1). As a result, the mark of right shoulder moved sideways as the step widths grow wider. Remarkably, the older group on the 20cm and 40cm step width had a larger rolling index for the left side than the right side (p<0.1, p<0.05). The rolling index of the elderly people decreased when the step widths widened. Also the elderly group expressed larger disproportionate shakiness on the left side than the younger group. We suggest that the stability of walking can be used as a useful single indicator for the risk of falling accidents.
