Preparatory adjustments during gait initiation in 4-6-year-old children

The preparatory adjustments related to gait initiation in a group of six ch ildren (4-6 years old) were studied in comparison to a group of six adults (50-61 years old). Muscle activity, ground reaction forces and body kinemat ics were recorded during the initiation of gait in subjects standing with o ne foot on each of two forceplates. Like adults, children had consistent an ticipatory activations of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle accompanied by center of pressure (COP) displacements, but the relative magnitude of both the backward COP displacement and concomitant initial TA activation burst w ere lower (P < 0.03 and P < 0.001 respectively) in children. The latter fin dings were associated with a lower rate of forward progression in children (P = 0.01), and a lack of significant covariance between the backward shift and forthcoming velocity. In contrast, the preparatory adjustments in the medio-lateral (M/L) direction were prominent in children. Larger M/L peak f orce rates in children (P = 0.01) were associated with an earlier (P = 0.00 7) weight transfer to the stance limb; moreover, children initiated gait fr om a wider (P = 0.04) base of support and had a trajectory of the total COP that was lateral rather than posterior like in adults. The consistent prep aratory adjustment responses indicate that the motor program for initiating gait is functional at this age. The prominence of the preparatory adjustme nts in the M/L direction together with a reduced magnitude of the responses in the antero-posterior direction suggest that the anticipatory behavior f or initiating gait develops first in the frontal plane and that more walkin g experience and better postural stability are required to fully achieve th e adult-like control of the gait initiation process. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.