Effect of instability of the surface in the stride length and angle of the arm of babies during the gait acquisition

The acquisition of independent gait was analyzed using a longitudinal study examining the effect of instability of the surface in stride length and angle of the arm of eleven babies, with mean age of 12.09 ± 0.42 months. The babies were followed for 4 months with biweekly assessments. The gait was conducted on two independent surface conditions - rigid and deforming. The stride length and angle of the arm were analyzed by Kinematics, using the program APAS. The results showed a significant effect on the factors "collections" and "surface" in stride length and significant effect on the factor "collections" in the arm angle, indicating changes in the behavior of the gait in two variables. The data indicate a developmental change incurred during the acquisition of independent gait and suggests that these changes precede the selection of a pattern or a strategy best suited to the demands of the environment.

本研究采用纵向研究设计，纳入11名平均年龄为12.09±0.42月龄的婴儿，通过考察支撑面不稳定性对其步长与手臂摆角的影响，分析独立行走步态的习得过程。研究对受试婴儿开展了为期4个月的随访，每两周进行一次评估。步态测试分别在刚性支撑面与可变形支撑面两种独立条件下完成。研究采用运动学分析方法，借助APAS软件对步长与手臂摆角进行量化分析。结果显示，步长指标受“采集批次”与“支撑面”两个因素的显著影响，手臂摆角仅受“采集批次”因素的显著影响，表明两种观测变量下的步态行为均发生了显著变化。本研究数据表明，婴儿独立行走步态的习得过程伴随发育性变化，且这类变化早于婴儿选择最适配环境需求的步态模式或运动策略。