Foot placement variables of pedestrians in community setting during curve walking

BackgroundThere is no precise description of changes of gait during curve walking. Research in curve walking is exclusively performed in clinical settings.Research questionIs there a difference in foot placement variables between the inner- and the outer leg during curve walking in a natural environment? And are these differences correlated with time or the curvature of the path?MethodDuring this observational study, camera footage was shot on a crossing where pedestrians were not aware of being filmed. Participants (n = 21, male, 18–40 yrs) were selected from this video footage. Using the software package “Movieprocessing”, the kinematic variables (time, curvature, stride length, step length, step width and relative foot angle (RFA)) were extracted from the collected data. A MANOVA and Pearson correlation test were performed to explore the data.ResultsMANOVA showed no significant differences in stride length and step length between inner- and outer leg. In contrast, a significant difference between the inner (M = 0.06, SD = 0.05) and outer leg (M = 0.10, SD = 0.06, F(20,256) = 3.577, p < .001) for the step width, and the inner (M = 11.72, SD = 7.99) and outer leg (M = 11.30, SD = 8.07, F(20,256) = 4.542, p < .001) for RFA was found. Pearson correlation was significant for curvature and step width for both legs pooled (r = .28, p < .01) and the outer leg (r = .64, p < .01), as well for time and RFA in the inner (r= −.25, p < .01) and outer leg (r = .213, p < .01).SignificanceThis research funds further research in curve walking in natural conditions, since curve walking is found to be performed non-symmetrically and not determined by geometrics but by choice. Foot placement variables change gradually and differently for both legs during walking a curve.