Do humans exploit the metabolic and mechanical benefits of arm swing across slow to fast walking speeds?

Thomas, Shernice A.; Vega, Daisey; Arellano, Christopher J.

doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110181

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Our findings collectively demonstrate that lateroflexion of the tail of Coelophysis , and by inference many other bipedal non-avian dinosaurs, played a role analogous to the swinging arms of humans during walking and running ( 37 , 43 , 44 ). Both movements are largely passively driven, primarily modulate fluctuations in vertical angular momentum, and are coordinated with other body movements to minimize required muscular effort.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Predictive simulations of running gait reveal a critical dynamic role for the tail in bipedal dinosaur locomotion

et al. 2021

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Locomotion has influenced the ecology, evolution, and extinction of species throughout history, yet studying locomotion in the fossil record is challenging. Computational biomechanics can provide novel insight by mechanistically relating observed anatomy to whole-animal function and behavior. Here, we leverage optimal control methods to generate the first fully predictive, three-dimensional, muscle-driven simulations of locomotion in an extinct terrestrial vertebrate, the bipedal non-avian theropod dinosaur Coelophysis. Unexpectedly, our simulations involved pronounced lateroflexion movements of the tail. Rather than just being a static counterbalance, simulations indicate that the tail played a crucial dynamic role, with lateroflexion acting as a passive, physics-based mechanism for regulating angular momentum and improving locomotor economy, analogous to the swinging arms of humans. We infer this mechanism to have existed in many other bipedal non-avian dinosaurs as well, and our methodology provides new avenues for exploring the functional diversity of dinosaur tails in the future.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Predictive simulations of running gait reveal a critical dynamic role for the tail in bipedal dinosaur locomotion

et al. 2021

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“…Twenty-one young, healthy adults (13 W, 8M) participated in this study (age = 25.38±2.92 years, mass = 68.37±12.41 kg, height = 1.70±0.09 m) (Thomas et al, 2021). They were non-smokers and physically active per ACSM guidelines (American College of Sports Medicine Guidelines, 2018), with a body mass index <30.0.…”

Section: Materials and Methods (Word Count: 1184) Participants And Experimental Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, we were unable to determine the effect of sampling rate on identifying periods of steady rates of metabolism. Our data were based on a previous study (Thomas et al, 2021) where our metabolic system was configured to sample average rates of O 2 consumption and CO 2 production approximately every 15 seconds. It is possible that applying our slope method on metabolic data that was sampled by breath-by-breath, as done by Schwartz (2007), could have identified shorter time windows, however, breath-by-breath data is inherently noisier.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Objective method reveals minimum time required to quantify net cost of transport across slow to fast walking speeds

Adeyeri

Thomas²,

Arellano³

2021

Preprint

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The U-shaped net cost of transport (COT) curve of walking has helped scientists understand the biomechanical basis that underlies energy minimization during walking. However, to produce an individual's net COT curve, data must be analyzed during periods of steady-rate metabolism. Traditionally, studies analyze the last few minutes of a 6-10 min trial, assuming that steady-rate metabolism has been achieved. Yet, it is possible that an individual achieves steady rates of metabolism much earlier. However, there is no consensus on how to objectively quantify steady-rate metabolism across a range of walking speeds. Therefore, we developed an objective method to determine the minimum time needed for humans to achieve steady rates of metabolism across slow to fast walking speeds. We hypothesized that a shorter time window could be used to produce a net COT curve that is comparable to the net COT curve created using traditional methods. We analyzed metabolic data from twenty-one subjects who completed several 7-min walking trials ranging from 0.50-2.00 m/s. We partitioned the metabolic data for each trial into moving 1-min, 2-min, and 3 min intervals and calculated their slopes. We statistically compared these slope values to values derived from the last 3-min of the 7-min trial, our 'gold' standard comparison. We found that a minimum of 2 min is required to achieve steady-rate metabolism and that data from 2-4 min yields a net COT curve that is not statistically different from the one derived from experimental protocols that are generally accepted in the field.

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“…The goal was to see whether providing this information, which exaggerated how fast the timing of the feedback would be, resulted in any differences in the subjects' gaits compared to H 0.8 , which corresponded to a feedback rhythm of 20% faster than normal walking cycle time. Regarding the order of the feedback trials, the overall sequence was randomized and different for each subject, with the following exceptions: (1) H 0.9 and HO 0.9 were performed consecutively, but their order was different for each subject, (2) to reduce the possibility of biasing the subject's gait, the three trials with the same value of k (H 0.9 , HM 0.9 , and HO 0.9 ) were never performed consecutively.…”

Section: B Experiments Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of arm swing in human gait has been the subject of extensive research and discussion, and although no unified theory has been proposed for its function, reducing energy expenditure is well-established as one of its effects [1], [2]. Importantly, evidence suggests the existence of neural couplings between the upper and lower limbs and points to the crucial role of appropriate arm swing in interlimb coordination and improving central pattern generators’ (CPG) function and training.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modulation of Arm Swing Frequency and Gait Using Rhythmic Tactile Feedback

Noghani

Hossain

Hejrati

2022

Preprint

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Due to the neural coupling between upper and lower limbs and the importance of interlimb coordination in human gait, it has been recommended that focusing on appropriate arm swing should be a part of gait rehabilitation in individuals with walking impairments. Despite its vital importance, there is a lack of effective methods to exploit the potential of arm swing inclusion for gait rehabilitation. In this work, we present a lightweight and wireless haptic feedback system that provides highly synchronized vibrotactile cues to the arms to manipulate arm swing and investigate the effects of this manipulation on the subjects' gait in a study with 12 participants (20-44 years). We found the developed system effectively adjusted the subjects' arm swing and stride cycle times by significantly reducing and increasing those parameters by up to 20% and 35%, respectively, compared to their baseline values during normal walking with no feedback. Particularly, the reduction of arms' and legs' cycle times translated into a substantial increase of about 19.3% (on average) in walking speed. The response of the subjects to the feedback was also quantified in both transient and steady-state walking. The analysis of settling times from the transient responses revealed a fast and similar adaptation of both arms' and legs' movements to the feedback for reducing cycle time (i.e., increasing speed). Conversely, larger settling times and the time differences between arms' and legs' responses were observed due to feedback for increasing cycle times (i.e., reducing speed). The results clearly demonstrate the potential of the developed system to induce different arm-swing patterns as well as the ability of the proposed method to modulate key gait parameters through capitalizing on the interlimb neural coupling with implications for gait training.

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Do humans exploit the metabolic and mechanical benefits of arm swing across slow to fast walking speeds?

Cited by 10 publications

References 25 publications

Predictive simulations of running gait reveal a critical dynamic role for the tail in bipedal dinosaur locomotion

Predictive simulations of running gait reveal a critical dynamic role for the tail in bipedal dinosaur locomotion

Objective method reveals minimum time required to quantify net cost of transport across slow to fast walking speeds

Modulation of Arm Swing Frequency and Gait Using Rhythmic Tactile Feedback

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