The Effects of Hip and Ankle Stretching on Gait Function of Older People

(A) Hip extension and (B) ankle dorsiflexion stretching activities as presented in the handout provided to participants in the intervention group.

Angle values graphed over time for (A) the thigh segment and (B) the ankle during set gait speed (1.5m/s) trials. Abbreviations: CTL, control group; INT, intervention group. Positive values indicate extension for the thigh segment and plantarflexion for the ankle. Dark solid lines represent preintervention and dashed lines represent postintervention mean data. Light solid and dashed lines represent values ±1 SD preintervention and postintervention, respectively. Initiation of gait cycle was toe-off of the right foot, and the end was the subsequent toe-off of the same foot. Vertical dotted lines indicate mean point of transition from swing to stance phase (ie, foot contact).

Angle values graphed over time for (A) the thigh segment and (B) the ankle during freely chosen gait speed trials. Abbreviations: CTL, control group; INT, intervention group. Positive values indicate extension for the thigh segment and plantarflexion for the ankle. Dark solid lines represent preintervention and dashed lines represent postintervention mean data. Light solid and dashed lines represent values ±1 SD preintervention and postintervention, respectively. Initiation of gait cycle was toe-off of the right foot and the end was the subsequent toe-off of the same foot. Vertical dotted lines indicate mean point of transition from swing to stance phase (ie, foot contact).