This study aimed to clarify the influence of various speeding strategies (i.e. adjustments of cadence and stride length) on external joint moments. This study investigated the gait of 52 healthy subjects who performed self-selected normal and fast speed walking trials in a motion analysis laboratory. Subjects were classified into three separate groups based on how they increased their speed from normal to fast walking: (i) subjects who increased their cadence, (ii) subjects who increased their stride length and (iii) subjects who simultaneously increased both stride length and cadence. Joint moments were calculated using inverse dynamics and then compared between normal and fast speed trials within and between three groups using spatial parameter mapping. Individuals who increased cadence, but not stride length, to walk faster did not experience a significant increase in the lower limb joint moments. Conversely, subjects who increased their stride length or both stride length and cadence, experienced a significant increase in all joint moments. Additionally, our findings revealed that increasing the stride length had a higher impact on joint moments in the sagittal plane than those in the frontal plane. However, both sagittal and frontal plane moments were still more responsive to the gait speed change than transverse plane moments. This study suggests that the role of speed in altering the joint moment patterns depends on the individual's speed-regulating strategy, i.e. an increase in cadence or stride length. Since the confounding effect of walking speed is a major consideration in human gait research, future studies may investigate whether stride length is the confounding variable of interest.

Pressure-detecting insoles such as the Insole3 have potential as a portable alternative for assessing vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) outside of specialized laboratories. This study evaluated whether the Insole3 is a valid and reliable alternative to force plates for measuring vGRF. Eleven healthy participants walked overground at slow and moderately paced speeds and ran at a moderate pace while collecting vGRF simultaneously from a force plate (3000 Hz) and Insole3 (100 Hz). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) demonstrated excellent vGRF agreement between systems during both walking speeds for Peak 1, Peak 2, the valley between peaks, and the vGRF impulse (ICC > 0.941). There was excellent agreement during running for the single vGRF peak (ICC = 0.942) and impulse (ICC = 0.940). The insoles slightly underestimated vGRF peaks (−3.7% to 0.9% bias) and valleys (−2.2% to −1.8% bias), and slightly overestimated impulses (4.2% to 5.6% bias). Reliability between visits for all three activities was excellent (ICC > 0.970). The Insole3 is a valid and reliable alternative to traditional force plates for assessing vGRF during walking and running in healthy adults. The excellent ICC values during slow walking suggests that the Insole3 may be particularly suitable for older adults in clinical and home settings.

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The objective of this work was to conduct a proof of concept study utilizing auditory feedback from a pressure-detecting shoe insole to shift plantar pressure medially in order to reduce the knee adduction moment (KAM). When compared with normal walking, 32 healthy subjects significantly reduced their peak KAM using feedback (p < 0.001). When compared with medial thrust gait, an established gait modification, walking with pressure-based feedback was equally effective at reducing the peak KAM, yet it successfully mitigated other potentially detrimental gait measures such as the peak knee flexion moment (KFM), knee internal rotation moment (KIrM), and a reduction in speed.

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