Abstract
The objective of this research was to examine whether regulation of step length and walking velocity were observed as a timing control before mounting a moving surface, by-comparing mounting of a motorized treadmill with that of a stopped treadmill. Twenty healthy young adults participated in this experiment. We measured step length and walking velocity before mounting the motorized treadmill moving at a velocity of 1.8 km/h and a stopped treadmill. Coefficient of variation (CV) was the index of variance of step length. We found that although there was no difference in walking velocity between a motorized treadmill and a stopped treadmill, CV increased on nearing the treadmill in mounting both the motorized treadmill and the topped treadmill (F4.190=13.61, p<0.01) and that CV increased at 2 steps before mounting the motorized treadmill (p<0.01). These results suggest two significant points. First, the gait in mounting the treadmill was affected by regulation of step length for transfer. Second, in mounting the motorized treadmill, regulation of step length was seen earlier than in mounting the stopped treadmill.
