ArticlePloS one2024
The effects of plantarflexor weakness and reduced tendon stiffness with aging on gait stability.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multimodal assessment of balance dysfunction in older adults: from classification to clustering-based functional pattern identification.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Investigating the Differences in the Simple Reaction Time and Muscle Stiffness Between Gym Users and Open-Skills Sport Practitioners: An Exploratory Study.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Reliability of DIERS pedogait system for evaluating spatiotemporal gait parameters in knee osteoarthritis and its association with Achilles tendon stiffness asymmetry.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- The relationship between ankle quasi-stiffness and postural stability in older adults during obstacle negotiations using the dominant and non-dominant sides.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- The effects of series elastic stiffness and cutaneous sensitivity on leg muscle reflex responses to unanticipated slips during walking.Experimental brain research · 2025Article
- Detecting artificially impaired balance in human locomotion: metrics, perturbation effects and detection thresholds.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Ultrasonographic changes in lower extremity tendon thickness after stroke rehabilitation and their associations with balance and functional outcomes.Frontiers in neurologyArticle
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Falls among older adults are a costly public health concern. Such falls can be precipitated by balance disturbances, after which a recovery strategy requiring rapid, high force outputs is necessary. Sarcopenia among older adults likely diminishes their ability to produce the forces necessary to arrest gait instability. Age-related changes to tendon stiffness may also delay muscle stretch and afferent feedback and decrease force transmission, worsening fall outcomes. However, the association between muscle strength, tendon stiffness, and gait instability is not well established. Given the ankle's proximity to the onset of many walking balance disturbances, we examined the relation between both plantarflexor strength and Achilles tendon stiffness with walking-related instability during perturbed gait in older and younger adults-the latter quantified herein using margins of stability and whole-body angular momentum including the application of treadmill-induced slip perturbations. Older and younger adults did not differ in plantarflexor strength, but Achilles tendon stiffness was lower in older adults. Among older adults, plantarflexor weakness associated with greater whole-body angular momentum following treadmill-induced slip perturbations. Weaker older adults also appeared to walk and recover from treadmill-induced slip perturbations with more caution. This study highlights the role of plantarflexor strength and Achilles tendon stiffness in regulating lateral gait stability in older adults, which may be targets for training protocols seeking to minimize fall risk and injury severity.
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