The maintenance of balance in dynamic conditions (e.g. during walking) is a necessary requirement that motor control must reach to avoid falls. However, this is a challenging situation, since to ensure the forward progression of the body, the center of mass must stay outside the base of support in the sagittal plane, and simultaneously remain inside the lateral borders in the frontal plane. Deviation from normative data of healthy subjects in dynamic balance could be used to quantify gait stability, fall risk and to provide hints for rehabilitation. However, normative data can be influenced by age, sex, anthropometry and spatio-temporal gait parameters, and such differences among subjects and leg side can hamper accurate assessment. The aims of this study were to investigate, in a group of healthy subjects: (1) possible asymmetry in dynamic balance maintenance strategies between leg sides, (2) the influence of age, sex and anthropometry on stability and (3) its dependence by spatio-temporal gait parameters. A total of 34 healthy subjects aged between 21 and 71 years, and ranging from 50.1 to 101.6 kg of body mass and from 155.0 to 188.9 cm of height were assessed on spatio-temporal and dynamic balance parameters (Foot Placement Estimator at heel strike and Margin of Stability at mid-stance) during self-selected gait. No parameter showed differences between legs. Dynamic balance parameters were influenced by sex, age, body mass and height mainly in the frontal plane. These measures were also correlated with gait speed and stride length both in the antero-posterior and medio-lateral directions. In addition also cadence and step width influenced the stability in the sagittal and frontal planes, respectively. The findings of this study confirm the symmetry in motor control of dynamic balance during self-selected gait in healthy subjects. Sex, anthropometry and spatio-temporal gait parameters have a significant effect on stability parameters, and this should be taken into account in dynamic balance studies.

中文翻译：

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健康成年人的水平行走过程中的动态平衡测量：与年龄，人体测量学和时空步态参数的关系。

在动态条件下（例如，在步行过程中）保持平衡是电机控制必须达到的避免跌倒的必要要求。但是，这是一个具有挑战性的情况，因为要确保身体向前发展，质心必须在矢状平面内停留在支撑底座的外部，并同时在额平面内保持在横向边界内。健康受试者的正常数据偏离动态平衡可用于量化步态稳定性，跌倒风险并提供康复提示。但是，规范性数据可能会受到年龄，性别，人体测量学和时空步态参数的影响，并且受试者和腿部之间的这种差异会影响准确的评估。这项研究的目的是对一组健康受试者进行调查：（1）腿两侧之间在动态平衡维持策略中可能存在不对称性；（2）年龄，性别和人体测量学对稳定性的影响；（3）时空步态参数对它的依赖性。评估了34位年龄在21至71岁之间，体重在50.1至101.6千克，身高在155.0至188.9厘米之间的健康受试者的时空和动态平衡参数（足跟着地和边缘的脚部位置估算器）自选步态中的稳定性）。没有参数显示腿之间的差异。动平衡参数主要受额叶性别，年龄，体重和身高的影响。这些措施还与前后方向和中外侧方向的步态速度和步幅相关。另外，脚踏圈速和步幅也分别影响矢状面和额叶面的稳定性。这项研究的结果证实了健康受试者自我选择步态时动态平衡运动控制的对称性。性别，人体测量学和时空步态参数对稳定性参数有重要影响，在动态平衡研究中应考虑到这一点。