Immediate effects of monocular viewing on lower-limb joint and endpoint kinematics during obstructed gait in young and older adults
Journal
Gait and Posture
Journal Volume
122
Start Page
158
End Page
166
ISSN
0966-6362
Date Issued
2025-07-11
Author(s)
Abstract
Background: Monocular vision loss leads to impaired depth perception, affecting precise spatial judgment and postural control in daily activities, particularly obstacle-crossing, which increases the risk of falls. How monocular viewing (MV) affects the lower-limb joint and endpoint kinematic control during obstacle-crossing remains unclear.
Research question: What are the immediate effects of MV on lower limb kinematics and endpoint control during obstacle crossing in healthy adults, and how are such effects affected by eye dominance or age? Methods: Twelve young and 12 older participants crossed a 10 % leg length obstacle under binocular viewing (BV) and four MV conditions involving the dominant or non-dominant eye with ipsilateral or contralateral limb leading. Lower-limb joint angles and endpoint kinematics, including foot-obstacle clearances, were measured. Two-way analyses of variance were used to analyse the effects of group and eye conditions. Results: Compared to BV, both groups showed significantly increased swing hip and knee flexion with increased toe-obstacle clearances and trailing toe-obstacle distances at reduced crossing speed and cadence across all MV conditions (p < 0.05). No significant interaction between viewing and age factors was observed, and no effects of eye dominance were found (p > 0.05). Significance: The observed kinematic changes under MV conditions could be attributed to a biased obstacle depth and height perception and a conservative strategy to reduce tripping risk. However, such a strategy may increase the whole-body balance challenge for older adults. These findings provide valuable baseline data for developing preventive strategies for managing tripping risks during obstacle crossing in individuals with MV.
Research question: What are the immediate effects of MV on lower limb kinematics and endpoint control during obstacle crossing in healthy adults, and how are such effects affected by eye dominance or age? Methods: Twelve young and 12 older participants crossed a 10 % leg length obstacle under binocular viewing (BV) and four MV conditions involving the dominant or non-dominant eye with ipsilateral or contralateral limb leading. Lower-limb joint angles and endpoint kinematics, including foot-obstacle clearances, were measured. Two-way analyses of variance were used to analyse the effects of group and eye conditions. Results: Compared to BV, both groups showed significantly increased swing hip and knee flexion with increased toe-obstacle clearances and trailing toe-obstacle distances at reduced crossing speed and cadence across all MV conditions (p < 0.05). No significant interaction between viewing and age factors was observed, and no effects of eye dominance were found (p > 0.05). Significance: The observed kinematic changes under MV conditions could be attributed to a biased obstacle depth and height perception and a conservative strategy to reduce tripping risk. However, such a strategy may increase the whole-body balance challenge for older adults. These findings provide valuable baseline data for developing preventive strategies for managing tripping risks during obstacle crossing in individuals with MV.
Subjects
Endpoint control
Gait analysis
Joint kinematics
Monocular viewing
Obstacle crossing
SDGs
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Type
journal article