Knee sleeves improve gait symmetry during fast walking in older adults.

Knee sleeves are commonly used to address knee-related concerns, particularly in older individuals. Although previous studies have demonstrated their efficacy in improving gait and functional outcomes in knees with pathological conditions, the effectiveness of knee sleeves for improving gait characteristics in healthy older adults remains unclear. The harmonic ratio (HR), an index for assessing gait symmetry commonly used to discriminate between individuals with different functional levels, can be used to detect alterations in gait characteristics. This study investigated the effects of knee sleeves on gait symmetry in healthy older adults. Sixteen healthy community-dwelling older adults walked barefoot with and without knee sleeves at normal and fast speeds. Gait symmetry indices (HR and improved HR [iHR]) and spatiotemporal gait parameters were compared under different conditions. A significant interaction between knee condition and walking speed was observed for mean iHR in the anteroposterior direction (

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Copyright © 2024 Inai, Kudo, Tsuchida and Fujimoto.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The authors declare that this study received funding from Kagawa Seamless Inc. through the Kagawa Prefecture AI advanced technology research and development support project subsidy. The authors disclose that knee sleeves were provided free of charge by Kagawa Seamless Inc. for the purpose of this study.