Kinetic and kinematic analysis of gait during transport of the wheeled backpack in schoolchildren from 7 to 10 years of age

Abstract

Introduction: The overweight of school backpacks results in an increase of mechanical load in the locomotive apparatus of the students during the locomotion. Objective: Analyze and compare kinetic and kinematic temporal/spatial variables during gait and transport of backpacks with wheels (10% body weight of load) in schoolchildren aged 7 to 10 years. Methods: Ten healthy children (7.8 ± 1.6 years) participate in two experimental conditions, first condition involved the gait in the plane, and the second condition the backpack transport provided with wheels in the plane (10% body weight) occurred. Results: Soil reaction forces in force platform did not show any differences between the conditions. The similarities indicate that wheeled backpacks do not require time changes or application of forces to perform the task when compared to the unladen gait in the plane. The kinematics of the ankle, knee and pelvis remained unchanged. Conclusion: The use of 10% BW of load in the backpack during transport was not influenced gait.