The impact of different walking environment on the gait and posture pattern of individuals with visual impairment

The purpose of the study was to investigate the selected walking conditions (self-paced walking, big step walking with guider and big step walking without guider) of young individuals with visual impairment (VI), and how their posture and gait are changed through different walking environment. The intent of the investigation was to help young individuals with VI develop correct posture and gait, to reduce the potential risk of future musculoskeletal injuries, to increase their opportunities of participating in physical activities and sports. Thirteen middle school students (6 males and 7 females) with VI served as participants for this study. A Fire-I video system with an Acer laptop computer was used to record the gait patterns of the participants. A MaxTRAQ 2-D motion analysis software was used to digitize the walking trials on video and analyze the selected kinematic data. The participants performed a self-paced walking first, then performed the big step walking with guider, at last performed the big step walking without guider. The selected kinematic variables included stride length, frequency, average speed, range of motion and maximum angular velocities of the shoulder, trunk, hip, knee, and ankle joints. A Repeated Measures ANOVA with the Holm's sequential Bonferroni procedure (p < 0.05) was employed to determine the differences of the selected kinematic variable of the walking paces among the VI participants. The results demonstrated that the gait pattern of the big step walking with and without guiding conditions instantly changed in terms of the trunk posture, the stride length, walking speed, and heel strike and toe-off, and the confidence in walking. It was concluded that a safe environment and a gait training is important and essential for the youths with VI and that big step walking with guider training in a safe and familiar environment has an immediately positive effect on the gait pattern for the youth with VI. Copyright © 2009 Asian Journal of Exercise & Sports Science.