Effects of gait speed on the margin of stability in healthy young adults

Fall and related injuries are one of the main health problems in people with balance disorders. Thus, the assessment of gait stability is extremely important in the field of rehabilitation. Among the many stability indicators, the Margin of Stability (MoS) could be a good candidate for clinical employment, considering its reliability also on short datasets. However, its correlation with gait parameters is still partially investigated. In this study, the relationship between the MoS and the walking speed was investigated while subjects walked on a treadmill at different speeds. As expected, results revealed that gait speed affected the MoS in the plane of progression: the higher the walking speed, the higher (absolute values) the MoS. Accordingly, in future studies, this metric could provide quantitative measure of stability during activities of daily living, as well, by using inertial motion units.