A STUDY ON GAIT PATTERN BETWEEN OLD AND YOUNG ADULTS TO EVALUATE ELDERLY SHOE: PRELIMINARY STUDY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: There are differences between gait performance of old and that of young adults (Paroczai, 2006). It is believed that these differences might have effects on the developmental procedure of shoes for the elderly. However the standard of elderly shoe for development and evaluation is not enough. Traditional gait analysis methods (kinematics and kinetics) and gait variability were used. Gait variability can offer a complementary way of quantifying locomotion and its changes with aging and disease as well as a means of monitoring the effects of therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation (Hausdorff, 2007). Especially, according to recent studies, variability was closely related to gait stability (Hausdorff, 2007). The goal of this study was to find elderly gait pattern for evaluating elderly shoe based on stability point of view.