Abstract
Japan is a super-aging society, with an average lifespan of 80.98 years for men and 87.14 years for women in 2016. However, the healthy lifespan is 72.14 years for men and 74.79 years for women. The difference between the average lifespan and the healthy lifespan is a problem. One of the causes of this problem is the decline in physical function with age. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent and cope with age-related muscle weakness and locomotive syndromes. The loss of physical function with age is similar to the loss of physical function experienced by astronauts living in space for a long time. It is thought that conducting research in a microgravity environment can solve the problem. Therefore, in the context of the development of rehabilitation methods and devices, Influence of partial gravity environments such as the Moon and Mars, where human exploration is planned, on human walking was investigated. Walking in a partial gravity environment was simulated by regulation of body weight relief by using an anti-gravity treadmill, and the walking motion was measured using a wearable motion measurement device and recording electromyogram (EMG).
As a result, from the changes observed in ground reactions forces and joint angles, it was found out that the gait becomes floating and gets closer to a slow tiptoe walking patterns were noted in response to body weight reduction using the anti-gravity treadmill. Furthermore, the changes in EMG patterns indicated that physical burden is reduced.
