Evaluation of impact transmissibility on individuals with shoes and barefoot during human gait

With the increasing interest in aerobic exercises in modern society, attention should be paid not only to their benefits, but also to the risks involved. During gait execution, a sudden deceleration occurs as the foot touches the ground, causing a shockwave that travels throughout the body. The present study is aimed to develop data acquisition system for acceleration, using low-cost accelerometers for the gait assessment. Data were collected from an accelerometer at three speeds with sensors attached to the head, spine, and tibia of the user to test the acquisition system and get the real data to be processed. The results obtained with gait analysis are consistent with findings of similar studies. The gait analysis system used in the present study was found to be a practical low-cost alternative for the monitoring and study of human motion. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.