Lots of athletic skills performed during practice or competition are initiated by the legs, where athletes either walk or run prior to executing specific skills. Kinematic chains are used to describe the relationships between body segments and joints during movement. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between movements of lower limb segments and the pelvis in open and closed kinematic chains while walking. The experimental group consisted of 32 males (age 23.3 ± 2.5 years, body mass 78.1 ± 8.7 kg, body height 182 ± 6 cm). For 3D analysis, an optoelectronic system Vicon MX (7 cameras, frequency 200 Hz) was used. Positioning of the segments was determined by the PlugInGait Model. Each participant executed five trials at speeds ranging from 1.38 to 1.52 m·s-1. The relationships between angle variables of the lower limbs and the pelvis in selected gait cycle phases were evaluated using STATISTICA software (version 10.0) and the Spearman correlation. The highest numbers of moderate and large correlations were found at opposite toe off, heel rise and initial contact for the sagittal and transversal planes in comparison to the frontal plane. The closed kinematic chain had a stronger impact on determining the movement pattern. The instructions or interventions focusing on closed kinematic chain alternation are more effective for changes in a movement pattern. The preferred limb initiates kinematics in the direction of propulsion, while the non-preferred limb in internal and external rotation.

Faculty of Biomedical Engineering Czech Technical University Prague Kladno Czech Republic

Faculty of Physical Culture Palacky University Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

Technical University of Ostrava Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Bizovska L, Svoboda Z, Janura M.. The possibilities for dynamic stability assessment during gait: A review of the literature. Journal of Physical Education and Sport. 2015;15:490–497.

Bovi G, Rabuffett M, Mazzoleni P, Ferrarin M.. A multiple-task gait analysis approach: Kinematic, kinetic and EMG reference data for healthy young and adult subjects. Gait Posture. 2011;33:6–13. PubMed

Bunton EE, Pitney WA, Cappaert TA, Kane AW.. The Role of Limb Torque Muscle Action and Proprioception During Closed Kinetic Chain Rehabilitation of The Lower Extremity. Journal of Athletic Training. 1993;28:10–20. PubMed PMC

Cabell L, Pienkowski D, Shapiro R, Janura M.. Effect of age and activity level on lower extremity gait dynamics: an introductory study. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27:1503–1510. PubMed

Cigali BS, Ulucam E, Yilmaz A, Cakiroglu M.. Comparison of asymmetries in ground reaction force patterns between normal human gait and football players. Biol Sport. 2004;21:241–248.

Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd ed. New York NY: Academic Press; 1988.

Dubbeldam R, Nester C, Nene AV, Hermens HJ, Buurke JH.. Kinematic coupling relationships exist between non-adjacent segments of the foot and ankle of healthy subjects. Gait Posture. 2013;37:159–164. PubMed

Franz JR, Paylo KW, Dicharry J, Riley PO, Kerrigan DC.. Changes in the coordination of hip and pelvis kinematics with mode of locomotion. Gait Posture. 2009;29:494–498. PubMed

Gaston MS, Rutz E, Dreher T, Brunner R.. Transverse plane rotation of the foot and transverse hip and pelvic kinematics in diplegic cerebral palsy. Gait Posture. 2011;34:218–221. PubMed

Graham RB, Costigan PA, Sadler EM, Stevenson JM.. Local dynamic stability of the lifting kinematic chain. Gait Posture. 2011;34:561–563. PubMed

Jandačka D, Estevan I, Janura M, Falco C.. The impact of the initial stance position on lower limb joint kinetics in the taekwondo roundhouse kick. Acta Univ Palacki Olomuc Gymn. 2013;43:15–22.

Jandačka D, Uchytil J, Svoboda Z, Elfmark M, Janura M.. Test-retest reliability of the net joint power transferred by the lower limbs during walking in healthy men. Acta Univ Palacki Olomuc Gymn. 2013;43:7–15.

Khamis S, Dar G, Peretz C, Yizhar Z.. The Relationship Between Foot and Pelvic Alignment While Standing. J Hum Kinet. 2015;46:85–97. PubMed PMC

Krawczyk M, Syczewska M, Szczerbik E.. Gait kinematics and clinical test changes in post-stroke patients during rehabilitation. Preliminary results of 12 patients of randomized clinical trial. Adv Rehabil. 2012;26:13–18.

Marchewka A, Chwala W.. The analysis of gait in people with Down Syndrome-comparison with the norm in healthy people. Biol Sport. 2007;24:167–175.

McMullen J, Uhl TL.. A kinetic chain approach for shoulder rehabilitation. J Athl Train. 2000;35:329–337. PubMed PMC

Michalski R, Wit A, Gajewski J.. Use of artificial neural networks for assessing parameters of gait symmetry. Acta Bioeng Biomech. 2011;13:66–70. PubMed

Panariello RA.. The closed kinetic chain in strength training. Strength Condit J. 1991;13:29–33.

Pohl MB, Messenger N, Buckley JG.. Forefoot, rearfoot and shank coupling: effect of variations in speed and mode of gait. Gait Posture. 2007;25:295–302. PubMed

Reuleaux F. Theoretische Kinematik – Grundzüge einer Theorie des Maschinenwesens [Theoretical kinematics – outline of a theory of machines] Braunschweig: Von Fridrich Vieweg und Sohn; 1875.

Rose J, Gamble JG. Human walking. 3rd ed. Philadelpha, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2006.

Sadeghi H, Allard P, Prince F, Labelle H.. Symmetry and limb dominance in able-bodied gait: A review. Gait Posture. 2000;12:34–45. PubMed

Sasaki S, Nagano Y, Kaneko S, Imamura S, Koabayshi T, Fukubayashi T.. The Relationships Between the Center of Mass Position and the Trunk Hip, and Knee Kinematics in the Sagittal Plane: A Pilot Study by Zdeněk Svoboda et al. on Field-Based Video Analysis for Female Soccer Players. J Hum Kinet. 2015;45:71–80. PubMed PMC

Stastny P, Lehnert M, Zaatar A, Svoboda Z, Xaverova Z, Jelen K.. Knee joint muscles neuromuscular activity during load-carrying walking. Neuroendocrinolo Lett. 2014;35:633–639. PubMed

Stastny P, Tufano JJ, Lehnert M, Golas A, Zaatar A, Xaverova Z, Maszczyk A.. Hip abductors and thigh muscles strength ratios and their relation to electromyography amplitude during split squat and walking lunge exercises. Acta Gymnica. 2015;45:51–59.

Steindler A. Kinesiology of the human body under normal and pathological conditions. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher; 1977.

Svoboda Z, Honzikova L, Janura M, Vidal T, Martinaskova E.. Kinematic gait analysis in children with valgus deformity of the hindfoot. Acta Bioeng Biomech. 2014;16:89–93. PubMed

Szczerbik E, Kalinowska A.. The influence of knee marker placement error on evaluation of gait kinematic parameters. Acta Bioeng Biomech. 2011;13:43–46. PubMed

Whittle MW. Gait analysis: An introduction. 4th ed. Edinbourgh: Elsevier; 2007.

Wright RW, Preston E, Fleming BC, Amendola A, Andrish JT, Bergfeld JA, Dunn WR, Kaeding C, Kuhn JE, Marx RG.. A systematic review of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction rehabilitation: part II: open versus closed kinetic chain exercises neuromuscular electrical stimulation accelerated rehabilitation and miscellaneous topics. The journal of knee surgery. 2008;21:225–234. PubMed PMC

Zifchock BA, Pratt K, Brown A, Hillstrom H.. Knee kinematic coupling in males and females: open and closed-chain tasks. J Appl Biomech. 2012;28:291–296. PubMed