THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POSTURE AND EXTERNAL FORCE IN WALKING

The clarification of parameters to determine the walking pattern is im portant for the understanding of the walking mechanism. Infants walk w ith different postures from adults, and the dynamic characteristics in infants differ from those in adults, It is possible for the ''walking posture'' to provide a set of the parameters which determine the walk ing pattern. This study examines the influence of walking postures on the external forces for adult subjects and tests the existence of a re lationship between the walking posture and the external forces. 20 sub jects, aged 18 to 22, walked with normal posture, forward-inclined tru nk and backward-inclined trunk, other 16 subjects walked with normal p osture, flexed knees and stiff knees, other 20 subjects walked with no rmal posture, open legs and closed legs, The results of the comparison between normal posture and the other postures show that the differenc es in walking posture influence the external forces. We are confident that there are causal relationships between the walking posture and th e external forces.