No Influence of Mechatronic Poles on the Movement Pattern of Professional Nordic Walkers

Agnieszka Szpala, Sławomir Winiarski (), Małgorzata Kołodziej, Bogdan Pietraszewski, Ryszard Jasiński, Tadeusz Niebudek, Andrzej Lejczak, Karolina Lorek, Jacek Bałchanowski, Sławomir Wudarczyk and Marek Woźniewski
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Agnieszka Szpala: Department of Biomechanics, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Mickiewicza 58 Street, 51-684 Wrocław, Poland
Sławomir Winiarski: Department of Biomechanics, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Mickiewicza 58 Street, 51-684 Wrocław, Poland
Małgorzata Kołodziej: Department of Biomechanics, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Mickiewicza 58 Street, 51-684 Wrocław, Poland
Bogdan Pietraszewski: Department of Biomechanics, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Mickiewicza 58 Street, 51-684 Wrocław, Poland
Ryszard Jasiński: Department of Human Biology, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Paderewskiego 35 Avenue, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland
Tadeusz Niebudek: Department of Physical Culture Pedagogy, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Paderewskiego 35 Avenue, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland
Andrzej Lejczak: Department of Physiotherapy in Surgical Medicine and Oncology, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Paderewskiego 35 Avenue, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland
Karolina Lorek: Department of Kinesiology, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Paderewskiego 35 Avenue, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland
Jacek Bałchanowski: Department of Fundamentals of Machine Design and Mechatronics Systems, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Łukasiewicza 7/9 Street, 50-371 Wrocław, Poland
Sławomir Wudarczyk: Department of Fundamentals of Machine Design and Mechatronics Systems, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Łukasiewicza 7/9 Street, 50-371 Wrocław, Poland
Marek Woźniewski: Department of Physiotherapy in Surgical Medicine and Oncology, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Paderewskiego 35 Avenue, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: This study compared selected temporal and kinematic parameters of normal gait and Nordic Walking (NW) performed with classic and mechatronic poles (classic poles equipped with sensors). It was assumed that equipping NW poles with sensors for biomechanical gait analysis would not impair the NW walking technique. Six professional NW instructors and athletes, including three women, participated in the study. The MyoMotion MR3 motion analysis system was used to collect gait kinematic variables. The subject’s task was to cover a 100-m distance with three types of gait: a gait without poles, a gait with classic NW poles, and a gait with mechatronic poles at the preferred speed. Parameters were measured both on the right and left sides of the body. No significant differences were found between gait types for three temporal parameters: step cadence, step, and stride time. For the other variables, all the differences identified were between free-walking and walking with poles, with no differences between standard and mechatronic poles. For nine kinematic parameters, differences between free-walking and walking with poles for both the left and right sides were found, while no differences were due to the pole type. All temporal parameters were characterized by symmetry, while among kinematic parameters, only two were asymmetrical (shoulder abduction–adduction in walking with regular poles and elbow flexion–extension in walking without poles). Equipping classic NW poles with additional signaling and measuring devices (mechatronic poles) does not impair the NW technique, making it possible to use them in further studies of gait biomechanics.

Keywords: gait analysis; movement pattern; human performance; Nordic Walking; mechatronic poles; biomedical signal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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