Comparaisons des exigences d’équilibre dynamique lors de la négociation de l’escalier et d’un plan incliné chez les personnes en santé
Inclined planes and stairs are current in the environment and represent a barrier for seniors and people with mobility problems. Slower progression, alteration in gait pattern likely explains the high rate of fall on these surfaces, but their effect on balance is not well known. Our objective was thus to compare the difficulty in maintaining dynamic stability during the ascent and descent of an inclined plane and stairs at natural and slow walking speed in healthy individuals. Ten young healthy participants ascended and descended an inclined plane and stairs, instrumented with force- platforms to record ground reaction forces. Whole-body kinematics was also recorded to determine balance difficulty using the stabilizing and destabilizing forces, center of mass velocity and step length. Analyses of variance were used to compare the effect of surface (inclined plane vs. stairs), direction (ascent vs. descent) and speed (natural vs. slow). The stabilizing force was higher on the inclined plane than on the stairs, with a higher velocity of the center of mass. Stabilizing force was higher and destabilizing force was lower during descent than ascent only in the inclined plane but destabilizing force was lower during ascent than descent on the stairs. Slower gait speed reduced balance difficulty on both surfaces. Step length was shorter in the stairs than on the inclined plane, and particularly during descent, and at slow gait speed. Balance difficulty was higher on the inclined plane than on the stairs and at natural speed than at slow speed. The effect of direction was opposite between surfaces with higher difficulty during descent of the inclined plane, but during ascent of the stairs. Further studies are necessary in older adults or individuals with balance deficits.
Balance inclined plane stairs destabilizing force stabilizing force