A baby’s gait can mature a bit depending on where in the world they grow up, experts say.
By age seven, most studies show that the distance and timing of a child’s footsteps match the coordination and coordination of an adult’s gait, regardless of where the child has grown.
At the same time, however, other studies have found subtle “step-by-step” changes in older children’s walking. These differences seem to persist as long as a person’s lean lower limb continues to grow through early adolescence and may be influenced by culture.
And in South Africa, for example, researchers have found that elementary school children already show a mature hip rotation angle when walking. But in France, children up to the age of 12 are required to develop a similar mature gait pattern.
And a new study from Japan found more subtle differences in the way a child learns to walk as an adult.
Unlike the South African children, the Japanese children did not show any significant changes in hip rotation movement as they got older.
Researchers observing a large group of students in Japan found that children near the age of 12 had higher ankle strength than those younger.
Their stride lengths are shorter, and their rhythm is faster at 6, 7 and 8 years old.
In other parts of the world, for example in Mexico, studies of walking in childhood have found a decrease in step length and stride as the child grows, but the rhythm of these steps remains the same or decreases after age. which is seven.
The authors of the new study wrote: “Motility and walking motility of Japanese children aged 6 to 12 years differ from those reported in children from other countries. Age-related changes in stride rhythm appear to be similar worldwide, but normal values slightly differ from those in our study.”
While the differences are subtle, they are worth knowing. Assessing a baby’s gait can tell pediatricians a lot about the patient’s overall health and physical development and whether they are growing normally.
For this reason, attempts have been made to develop national standards in different countries of the world in recent years.
The current study in Japan is an attempt to meet these criteria. The researchers used a 3D gait analysis system to see how children ages 6 to 12 use their lower limbs to walk.
Among 424 children in Japan, researchers found four major differences in development.
Compared to younger children, older children in the study increased the number of steps they took per minute at a rate known as cadence. Step lengths are also shortened compared to 9-10 year olds.
Also, the older children in the study used less range of motion in their knees when walking and tended to point their toes.
Tadashi Ito, a health scientist at Nagoya University, said: “We believe that differences in lifestyle, development, and cultural factors all affect the gait of Japanese children. This is unlikely to affect the health of Japanese children. However, it refers to characteristics different from Japanese children abroad.” .
While discovering these subtle differences, Ito added that the study findings “provide an important tool for assessing normal and pathological gait and can determine the effectiveness of orthopedic treatment and rehabilitation for motion sickness.”
Obviously, the way children move is different from the way adults move. Most of us can tell the difference at a glance. The reason these differences exist is a common curiosity. Is there a natural learning progression that involves walking like an adult? Or does something physically change as the child grows?
Does culture play a role?
Studies on cultural differences between human gait are few, and studies examining different age groups are few.
Findings such as the Japanese study certainly show an association.
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Source: Science Alert
Source: Arabic RT
