EFFECT OF BACKPACK ON SELECTED GAIT PARAMETERS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHilDREN

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a backpack load of 15% body weight (BW) on selected gait parameters of primary school children. Ten participants were recruited from primary school (age: 10.3 ± 0.48 yrs; hI: 141.3 ± 0 .41 cm; mass: 38.1 ± 6.1 kg). A JVC 9800 (60 hz) video camera synchronized with an AMTI force plate (1200 Hz) were used to collect data. A repeated measure t-test (p < 0.05) was used for group comparisons. The backpack load did not affect either the proportionate time of the stance phase, swing phase, or the magnitude of selected vertical and anterioposterior ground reaction force parameters. However, the 15% backpack load did cause a significant increase in proportionate double leg support time.