Females Present Reduced Minimum Toe Clearance During Walking As Compared to Males in Active Older Adults (2024)

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Aurélio Faria, PhD

Department of Sport Science, Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), University of Beira Interior

Covilhã

Portugal

Address correspondence to: Aurélio Faria, PhD. E-mail: afaria@ubi.pt

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Tiago Sousa, MD

Department of Sport Science, Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), University of Beira Interior

Covilhã

Portugal

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João R Vaz, PhD

Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar Egas Moniz (CiiEM), Egas Moniz – Cooperativa de Ensino Superior

Monte da Caparica

Portugal

Division of Biomechanics and Research Development, Department of Biomechanics,

Center for Research in Human Movement Variability, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Omaha, Nebraska

USA

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Ronaldo Gabriel, PhD

Department of Sport Sciences, Exercise, and Health, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro

Vila Real

Portugal

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Jorge Gama, PhD

Centre of Mathematics and Applications, University of Beira Interior

Abstract

Background

Physical decline due to aging has been associated with the risk of falls. Minimum toe clearance (MTC) is a gait parameter that might play a role in the mechanism of tripping and falling. However, it is unclear if there are any sex-related effects regarding MTC as people age. The present study investigated if there are sex-related differences in MTC in older active adults.

Methods

Twenty-three females and 23 males (F: 65.5 ± 4.8 years; M: 61.9 ± 5.2 years) walked on a treadmill at a preferred walking speed, while kinematic data were obtained at a sampling frequency of 100 Hz and up-sampled to 120 and 240 Hz. MTC was calculated from the kinematics data and evaluated concerning its magnitude (ie, MTC and MTC/leg length), the time between left/right MTC (ie, T-MTC), amount of variability (ie, coefficient of variation [CV] and coefficient of variation modified [CVm]), and temporal structure of variability, that is, the complexity of the time series (ie, MTC α, T-MTC α).

Results

No sex effects were found for MTC/leg length, for the amount of variability (ie, CV and CVm), and for the complexity of the time series (MTC α, T-MTC α). However, females exhibited significantly lower MTC and T-MTC after adjusting for walking speed, mass, and age as covariates.

Conclusions

The reduced MTC in females suggests a potential sex-related disparity in the risk of tripping and falling among active older adults.

Balance, Falls, Gait, Tripping, Variability

© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.

This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights)

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