Influence of Different Stairstep Heigth and Aging on the Toe Clearance during Stair-Climbing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of different stairstep heights and aging on toe clearance during stair-climbing. [Subjects] The subjects were 10 young women and 10 community-dwelling elderly women. [Methods] We measured toe-clearance during stair-climbing with different stairstep heights: 5 cm, 10 cm and 15 cm. [Results] Two-way ANOVA showed that toe clearance of the elderly were significantly greater than toe clearance of the young regardless of stairstep height. [Conclusion] The results suggest that during stair-climbing feedback on toe clearance was received from the first step, leading to adjustment in subsequent steps, which was unaffected by differences in stairstep height.