Effects of Intensive Up-to-Exhaustion Walking Exercise on the Center of Gravity Sway

Abstract

Because an intensive exercise of walking up-to-exhaustion (walking exercise) results in considerable whole-body fatigue, it might affect the center of gravity sway (COGS) while standing and delay its recovery. This study aimed to examine the effects of a walking exercise on the COGS and its recovery by comparing exercising and non-exercising conditions. Fifteen healthy adult men walked on a treadmill, with a multi-stage incremental load, until exhaustion. The exercising group took the COGS test for 60 s before and immediately after exercising and after a 3-min-long sitting rest. The control group underwent the same test simultaneously. The X-axis and Y-axis trajectory lengths, total trajectory length, outer peripheral area, and rectangular area were selected as COGS variables. Repeated measures two-way (exercise x time) analysis of variance and multiple comparisons revealed that all mean COGS variables, measured after exercising, were greater than all means obtained for the control group, and than those measured in the exercising group before performing the exercise. The means of COGS variables measured in the exercising group remained greater even after a 3-min sitting rest period. In conclusion, intensive walking exercise affected the COGS in adult men. This effect was not reverted by a 3-min sitting rest.

Adaptation of Postural Sway in a Standing Position during Tilted Video Viewing Using Virtual Reality: A Comparison between Younger and Older Adults

“…On the force plate, the following six parameters were measured: X-axis trajectory length (mm), Y-axis trajectory length (mm), total trajectory length (mm), trajectory length per unit time (mm/s), outer peripheral area (mm 2 ), and rectangular area (mm 2 ) [19]. Participants performed three trials for each condition.…”