Evaluation of the effects of prescribing gait complexity using several
fluctuating timing imperatives

Kiriella, J; Di Bacco, V; Hollands, K; Gage, W

Abstract

Variability in the timing of walking patterns has a complex mathematical structure (fractality). Fractality of gait can reflect health,so practicing walking with specific temporal coordination could be helpful for various groups at high risk of falls. However, the degreeto which gait fractalitycan be‘prescribed’using differentauditory stimuli is yet to be elucidated. This study evaluated the use of several fluctuating timing imperatives on the consistency of ‘prescribing’gait complexity in healthy individuals. 14healthy young adults cuedtimingof heel contactto anfractal auditory stimuliacross four conditions(uncued, white noise, pinknoise, and red noise)administered across three sessions(session 1, session 2, and session 3), with each experimentaltrial repeated twice within each session.Fractality differed based on the walking condition while no effect of sessionwas revealed. The results of this study suggest gait fractality adapts to various fractalstimuliand thatfractalitycan beconsistentlyprescribed in a desired direction withina group of healthy young individuals.

Citation

fluctuating timing imperatives. Journal of Motor Behavior, 52(5), 570-577. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2019.1654971

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 22, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 17, 2019
• Publication Date: Sep 2, 2020
• Deposit Date: Aug 19, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 17, 2020
• Journal: Journal of Motor Behavior
• Print ISSN: 0022-2895
• Electronic ISSN: 1940-1027
• Publisher: Routledge
• Volume: 52
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 570-577
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2019.1654971
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2019.1654971
• Related Public URLs: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/vjmb20/current
• Additional Information: Access Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Motor Behavior on 17th October 2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00222895.2019.1654971