Walking gait stability in young and elderly people and improvement of walking stability using optimal cadence

Abstract

Walking stability of human beings varies with age and reduces in the elderly people. Lesser walking stability causes many falls in the elderly people. In this paper, we have investigated the walking stability of young and elderly subjects using approximate entropy, a nonlinear time series analysis method. Walking stability of young and elderly persons are tested on different walking speed (steps/min.) or cadences in controlled walking mode. Results showed that young and most of the elderly subjects tries to optimize their cadence to get better walking stability. This method can be used as a mean to suggest a better walking speed to elderly people to increase their walking stability.