Walking on the sand and gravel surface decreases the impact to the lower limb

: 【 Objective 】 The purpose of this study was to confirm whether Walking on the sand and gravel surface decreases the impact to the lower limb. 【 Methods 】 Twenty-four healthy subjects participated in this study. All subjects walked on flat flooring, sand, and gravel. For each walking surface, the ground reaction force dur-ing the stance phase of the gait was measured. 【 Results 】 When the subjects walked on the sand or gravel surface, compared with the flat floor, the maximum vertical and anterior ground reaction forces in the second half of the stance phase were significantly decreased. However, the first peak of medial ground reaction forces and the vertical ground reaction forces at mid-stance were larger on sand and gravel surfaces. There were no group differences between sand and gravel conditions. 【 Conclusion 】 The results of this study suggested that the walking on sand and gravel surface decreases the impact to the lower limb.