Experimental evaluation of the treadmill speed and incline effects on the ankle kinematics in healthy subjects

Abstract

This paper presents the results obtained in the experimental evaluation of flexion–extension angles of the ankle joints during 10 tests of walking on horizontal and inclined treadmill. The tests were performed at two different speeds, 5 km/h and 10 km/h, and five different incline angles: 0, 3, 7, 11 and 15 degrees by a sample of 11 healthy subjects. The medium cycles are determined and plotted for all subjects and for the sample, for all experimental tests. The medium cycle was calculated for each test, for each subject, and for the entire sample. A comparison is made between the average cycles of each test obtained for the sample. Increasing the TM inclination leads to an increase in the maximum value of the flex-ext angle. The influence of increasing the TM inclination angle on the variation of the flex-ext angle is stronger than that of increasing the walking speed.