Gait analysis of 57 healthy children by measurement of ground reaction forces on ADAL treadmill.

Purpose of the study The purpose of this study was to present a new treadmi ll proposed, for evaluating, gait in children. We analysed differences in g round reaction forces between boys and girls, and we calculated the symmetr y index in healthy children. Material and method Time and ground reaction forces of about 30 steps were measured using a new treadmill. The apparatus consists of 2 walking belts w hich function as two independent treadmills placed side by side, separated by 4 mm. The 2 treadmills were mechanically separated in order to allow ind ependent measurement bf: the ground reaction forces induced by each lower l imb during stance phase. The children (28 boys and 29 girls), all clinically healthy, were divided i nto three groups according to their height (between 105 and 150 cm). They w alked at three different velocities(2.7 km/h, 3.6 km/h and 4.5 km/h accordi ng to their height). The graphs representing the subject's measurements wer e composed of fore-aft,- medial-lateral, and vertical parameters. The analy sis of these graphs considered stride stance, double-stance and nine specif ic points.. We also calculated the symmetry index of each child. Results We determined the values of the symmetry index in healthy children. We did not find any significant difference in gait between girls and boys, except for Fz3 at 2.7 kg/h, where Fz3 was higher in girls than in boys. Discussion We compared our results with those reported in the literature an d found that ADAL has a very important advantage in gait analysis in childr en because it is simple and easily accepted by children.