Comparison between Gait Patterns of Healthy Older and Young Adults under Low Illumination

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in the walking patterns of older and young adults during level walking under low-lighting conditions. Method: Fourteen older men (72.92 ± 5.78 years, 162.09 ± 5.30 cm, 63.16 ± 7.22 kg) and young men (22.1 ± 2.21 years, 174 ± 3.74 cm, 68.86 ± 10.81 kg) with normal vision and no gait disabilities participated in this study. All the experiments were performed on a level walkway under two lighting conditions, i.e., moderate lighting and low lighting. A 3-dimensional (3D) motion capturing system was used to acquire and analyze walking motion data; the sampling frequency was 120 Hz. To compare the differences in walking pattern between the two lighting conditions, the following parameters were assessed: walking speed; knee and elbow joint angles; ratio of the knee joint angle (KA) to the elbow joint angle (EA), i.e., KA/EA; and toe clearance in the swing phase. Results: In older group, no significant differences were observed in most of the variables, i.e., walking speed, joint angles, and toe clearance in the stance phase; however, KA/EA increased significantly. While in young group, the most variables were significant differences according to lighting conditions. Conclusion: On comparing these results with those for young adults, we found differences that may represent a lack of adaptability of older adults to low lighting.