Data from: Probability of lateral instability while walking on winding paths

Gait biomechanics is most often studied during straight-ahead walking.
However, real-life walking imposes many turns and/or other such maneuvers
that people must navigate.  Such maneuvers challenge people’s
lateral balance. In older adults or others with impaired walking, such
tasks can induce falls, which can increase risk of injuries in these
populations.  Therefore, determining how people’s lateral balance
is impacted during these more complex walking tasks, and how they adapt
their steps, is critical.  Here, we asked 24 young healthy adult
participants (12F/12M; Age 25.8±3.5yrs) to walk on both wide and narrow
virtual paths that were either straight, slowly-winding, or
quickly-winding. This data set comprises their lower body, pelvis, and
head kinematics as they walked along those paths. A file of participant
characteristics (.xlsx), including group demographics, participant
anthropometrics, and assessment scores is also provided. In addition, a
marker-set definition file (.xlsx) is also provided. These data include
how people navigate paths of different width and curviness, which may lend
themselves to several applications such as investigations of more
real-world gait interventions to target adaptive strategies that could
more effectively improve mobility.