Shock Attenuation and Head Stability
Necessary for effective ambulation, head stability affords optimal conditions for the perception of visual information during dynamic tasks. This maintenance of head-in-space equilibrium is achieved during locomotion through a combination of shock avoidance and shock attenuation.
Previous experiments suggest that altering gait parameters (e.g. increasing cadence) may be an effective strategy in the avoidance of impact shock, and kinematic adaptations (e.g. increased knee flexion during stance) may help to attenuate the shock associated with ground contact. While both strategies are employed to aid in the perception of visual information during steady state locomotion, little is known about the mechanisms underlying head stability in more ecologically complex settings.
Our current research is aimed at uncovering the mechanisms by which the human system is able to attenuate impact shock under varying degrees of: mechanical load, imposed gait asymmetry, and visual information.