A STUDY OF THE MECHANICAL ENERGY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TREADMILL AND OVERGROUND WALKING

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to analyze the components of the mechanical energy of the body considering the differences between treadmill and overground walking. One subject was filmed while walking at 1.5 m/s on treadmill and overground. The results show that the patterns of the curves are very similar, but the change in the total energy, both in the upper as in the lower extremity were greater on overground (23.20J and 17.47J respectively for overground and treadmill and for the upper extremity 4.91J and 2.56J). The potential energy change of the trunk was also greater on overground (overground 45.97J; treadmill 24.88J). These findings, showing a lower measured mechanical cost on treadmill address the problem whether the treadmill can be used as a valid simulator for overground walking.