ABSTRACT
This study aims to elucidate the characteristics of center of pressure progression (COPP) for elderly adults during barefoot walking. The results indicated that the self-selected walking speed was 2.8 (SD=0.5) km/hr with the cadence of 83.1 (SD=7.5) steps/min. There were no significant difference between male and female in the walking speed and cadence (p>.05). For the percentage of time (time%) of COPP in the initial contact phase (ICP), forefoot contact phase (FFCP), foot flat phase (FFP) and forefoot push off phase (FFPOP) were about 5.6%, 4.9%, 57.4% and 32.1%, respectively. The progression angle (PA) was 4.9 degree (SD=2.6) with the inward curve and the average velocity of COP was 26.0 cm/s (SD=3.9). Moreover, gender effect only had significant difference in the time % of COPP
(p<.05). These characteristics of gait patterns for elderly adults can provide some useful information for clinical rehabilitation in gait training, footwear and relative assistive devices design.
