Stability While Walking is Affected by Walking Speed and Cognitive Load

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of walking speed and cognitive load on learning gait stability in younger and older adults. Ten adults (five males and five females) and ten elderly (five males and five females) were healthy volunteers without a history of falls. He was asked to do three tasks on a treadmill with speed (preferred, fast, and slow) with/without cognitive load. The gait‑stability ratio (GSR) for each of the above conditions was calculated in terms of both younger and older adults. Two‑way repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the mean differences at a significance level of 0.05. The results showed that the cognitive performance score decreases with increasing speed. Moreover, at faster and slower speeds than prefer speed with/without cognitive load, GSR is higher, and this value was observed more in elderly than in adults (P < 0.05). The elderly, through different walking strategies, especially the lowering phase, provide more double support while walking, so that they will fall less with increasing steadiness.