Is phase-dependent stability related to phase-dependent gait robustness?

Abstract

Predicting gait robustness is paramount for targeting interventions to prevent falls. Our analysis of a compass walker model revealed that phase-dependent stability measures have limited capacity to predict overall gait robustness. Interestingly, these measures vary substantially over the gait cycle which seemingly aligns with the robustness of both humans and walking models that likewise depends on the phase at which perturbations occur. To explore this in depth, we again used a compass walker model that can walk stably and periodically and applied forward and backward perturbations (instantaneous changes in angular velocities) to the stance or swing leg at multiple instants during the single-stance phase. We then estimated the degree to which phase-dependent stability measures correlate with phase-dependent gait robustness, quantified as the maximal perturbation-induced change in mechanical energy that the walker could tolerate without falling within 50 steps. We found that these phase-dependent stability measures did not adequately predict phase-dependent gait robustness in the compass walker model. We therefore conclude that these measures are unlikely to provide reliable predictions of gait robustness or fall risk in humans.