The Effect of Age on Gait Speed When Texting

Influence of texting while walking on lower extremity gait function in young adults

Texting while walking (TWW) is a dual-task activity that young adults perform in their everyday lives. TWW has been reported to affect gait characteristics such as gait speed, stride length, and cadence. However, the influence of TWW on lower extremity gait function has not been investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to quantify gait function by examining gait symmetry and using a time series analysis. Twenty-eight young adults (14 males, 14 females) walked at their preferred speed for 10 m as a baseline condition and a 10 m TWW task. Three-dimensional segment tracking was achieved utilizing a lower extremity and trunk marker set and the Model Statistic was used to test for statistical differences between the hip, knee, and ankle angular joint positions. The hip yielded the most asymmetries (25 out of 101 points) throughout the gait cycle, while asymmetries for the knee and ankle joints yielded 16 out of 101 points and 11 out of 101 points, respectively. The outcomes of this study suggest there are differences between baseline and TWW gait symmetry, however, the percentage of the gait cycle affected was less than 25 % - indicating gait function is not strongly influenced by texting while walking in young adults.

Effects of Mobile Phone Use on Gait and Balance Control in Young Adults: A Hip-Ankle Strategy

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to derive the effects of walking while using a mobile phone on balance perturbation and joint movement among young adults.

METHODS

Sixteen healthy college students with no history of brain injury were tested. The participants were asked to walk under four different conditions: (1) walking, (2) browsing, (3) dialing, and (4) texting. Indicators related to balance control and lower limb kinematic/kinetic parameters were analyzed using the continuous relative phase and statistical nonparametric mapping methods.

RESULTS

Walking while using a mobile phone slowed participants' gait speed and reduced the cadence, stride length, and step length. The posterior tilt angle (0-14%, 57-99%), torque of the hip flexion (0-15%, 30-35%, 75-100%), and angle of the hip flexion (0-28%, 44-100%) decreased significantly. The activation of biceps femoris and gastrocnemius, hip stiffness, and ankle stiffness increased significantly. This impact on gait significantly differed among three dual tasks: texting > browsing > dialing.

CONCLUSION

Che overlap of walking and mobile phone use affects the gait significantly. The "hip-ankle strategy" may result in a "smooth" but slower gait, while this strategy was deliberate and tense. In addition, this adjustment also increases the stiffness of the hip and ankle, increasing the risk of fatigue. Findings regarding this effect may prove that even for young healthy adults, walking with mobile phone use induces measurable adjustment of the motor pattern. These results suggest the importance of simplifying the control of the movement.

Texting on a Smartphone While Walking Affects Gait Parameters

Cell phone use while walking is an ever-increasing traffic hazard, and leads to an augmented risk of accidents. There is a rising number of injuries to pedestrians using a cell phone. Texting on a cell phone while walking is an emerging problem among people of different ages. The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether using a cell phone while walking affects walking velocity, as well as cadence, stride width, and length in young people. Forty-two subjects (20 males, 22 females; mean age: 20.74 ± 1.34 years; mean height: 173.21 ± 8.07 cm; mean weight: 69.05 ± 14.07 kg) participated in the study. The subjects were asked to walk on an FDM-1.5 dynamometer platform four times at a constant comfortable velocity and a fast velocity of their choice. They were asked to continuously type one sentence on a cell phone while walking at the same velocity. The results showed that texting while walking led to a significant reduction in velocity compared to walking without the phone. Width, cadence, and length of right and left single steps were statistically significantly influenced by this task. In conclusion, such changes in gait parameters may result in an increased risk of pedestrian crossing accidents and tripping while walking. Phone use is an activity that should be avoided while walking.

Does texting while walking affect spatiotemporal gait parameters in healthy adults, older people, and persons with motor or cognitive disorders? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Smartphone use during postural-locomotor tasks is an everyday activity for individuals of all ages in diverse environmental situations and with various health conditions. Nevertheless, the use of smartphones during walking is responsible for many accidents.

RESEARCH QUESTION

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined spatiotemporal gait parameters during the dual-task situation "texting + gait" versus isolated gait task (single task) in adult persons (>18 years).

METHODS

Electronic database searches were performed in PubMed, Embase, CINHAL, and LISSA. Two examiners assessed the eligibility and quality of appraisal with the Downs and Black checklist. The standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95 % confidence intervals was calculated to compare single- and dual-task situations. The pooled estimates of the overall effect were computed using a random or fixed effects method, and forest plots were generated.

RESULTS AND SIGNIFICANCE

A total of 25 studies were included. All studies included healthy adults, with four studies including older persons and three including people with pathological conditions. The walking task was with (N = 4) and without (N = 21) obstacles and in laboratory (N = 21) or ecological conditions (N = 7). The quality scores were 6-8/16 for eight studies, 9-12/16 for seven studies, and more than 12/16 for three studies. During the "texting + gait" tasks, the meta-analysis highlighted a significant impairment of gait speed, step and stride length, cadence, and double and single support (p < 0.05). The spatiotemporal parameters of gait were systematically altered during the texting task regardless of the population and test conditions. However, the quality of the studies is moderate, and few studies have been conducted for people with motor deficiencies. The impact of texting on walking should be better considered to develop prevention actions.

Safe stairway negotiation: Role of distractions and handrail use

INTRODUCTION

This study sought to examine stairway safety by identifying associations between fall-related events on stairways, distractions, gait speed, drifting, as well as handrail use and proximity.

METHOD

Video recordings captured 11,137 observations of stair users in two public stairways and recorded distractions (e.g., looking at a mobile device, talking on a mobile device, using earbuds or headphones, holding a mobile device, or talking with a peer), gait speed (m/s), drifting (change of direction), as well as handrail use and proximity to a handrail.

RESULTS

In our sample, consisting of primarily young adults (observed 18-40 years old), we found that when a distraction was present, gait speed was reduced (p &lt;.001), drifting increased (p &lt;.001), and handrail use negatively impacted (p &lt;.001) compared to stair users who were not distracted.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that distractions, such as mobile devices, used during stair negotiation can reduce handrail use and increase behaviors associated with fall-related events.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Mobile device use during stairway negotiation increases the likelihood of distraction-induced events. Stair users should be encouraged to limit or avoid mobile device use in public stairway environments. Mobile manufacturers and mobile app developers could aim to develop strategies or mobile app alerts to reduce the impact of distractions (e.g., mobile device use) during stair negotiation to lessen the health and financial burden associated with fall-related events on stairways.

Risks of Accidents Caused by the Use of Smartphone by Pedestrians Are Task- and Environment-Dependent

Using smartphones during a task that requires an upright posture can be detrimental for the overall motor performance. The aim of this study was to determine the risks of accidents caused by the use of smartphones by pedestrians while walking in a controlled (laboratory) and a non-controlled (public street) environment. Two hundred and one participants, 100 men and 101 women, all young adults, were submitted to walking activities while texting messages and talking on the phone. The risk of accident was measured by the time and the number of steps necessary to walk a 20 ft distance. Assessments were performed with no external distractors (laboratory) and on a public street with vehicles, pedestrians, lights, and noises. Multivariate analysis of variance tests provided the main effect of task (using × not using smartphone), environment (laboratory × street), sex (men × women), and interactions. Significance was set at 5%. The results showed that using a smartphone while walking demanded a greater number of steps and time to perform the task (main effect of task: 0.84; p = 0.001). The risk of accident was higher on the streets where, due to traffic hazards, pedestrians performed the task faster and with a lower number of steps (the main effect of environment: 0.82; p = 0.001). There was no difference of risks between men and women (main effect of sex: 0.01; p = 0.225), whether in the laboratory or on the street (main effect of sex × environment: 0.01; p = 0.905). The task × environment interaction showed that using a smartphone on the street potentiates risks of accidents of pedestrians (main effect of task × environment: 0.41; p = 0.001). In conclusion, using a smartphone while walking can be risky for pedestrians, especially in a traffic environment. People should avoid using their smartphone while crossing streets.

The Impact of Using Mobile Phones on Gait Characteristics: A Narrative Review

The aim of this study was to summarize the research status and reveal the impact of mobile phone use on gait characteristics by reviewing the existing studies in terms of research status, participants, independent variables, dependent variables, main findings, etc. Twenty-nine studies which investigated the impact of using mobile phones on gait characteristics were identified through a literature search. The majority of these studies examined the effects of mobile phone use on gait characteristics in young people. The preliminary results showed that walking while using a mobile phone has significant impacts on gait. It can decrease gait velocity, cadence, step length and stride length, along with significantly increasing step width, step time and double support time. The results varied among different mobile phone usage, which resulted from the different motor and mental demands. Additionally, age and environment could affect the results as well. As well as the kinematic characteristics, we suggest that kinetic and EMG analysis are conducted in future studies.

Mobile Phone Use during Gait: The Role of Perceived Prioritization and Executive Control

(1) Background: Mobile phone use during gait is associated with adverse health outcomes, namely increased risk of pedestrian injury. Healthy individuals can voluntarily prioritize concurrent task performance, but the factors underlying the impact of phone use during walking remain largely unknown. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the relationship between subjective (perceived) prioritization, cognitive flexibility and dual-task performance when using a mobile phone during walking. (2) Methods: Thirty young participants walked for one minute with and without reading or texting on a mobile phone, as well as reading or texting while sitting. Walking performance (kinematics) was recorded, as well as phone use (text comprehension, text read/written), mental workload, perceived prioritization (visual analog scale), and cognitive flexibility (trail-making test). (3) Results: Texting while walking was associated with larger decreases in gait speed, larger gait variability, higher mental workload, and lower text comprehension compared to reading. Perceived prioritization was associated with walking dual-task costs (DTCs) (r = 0.39–0.42, p < 0.04) when texting, and better cognitive flexibility was associated with lower gait DTCs when texting (r = 0.55, p = 0.002) but not reading. (4) Conclusions: The context-dependent link between perceived prioritization, cognitive flexibility, and walking DTCs promotes our understanding of the factors underlying texting-while-walking performance. This could identify individuals who are more prone to dual-task interference in this increasingly common and dangerous task.