The Energy Costs of Ambulation Using Two Types of Walking Frame

Abstract

Using a technique based on heart-rate measurements, it has been found that the physiological energy costs incurred by elderly patients ambulating with a Rollator walking frame were only half of those associated with the Zimmer frame. It is proposed that the relatively simple experimental approach described here could profitably be applied, within the clinical environment, to compare the effectiveness of different approaches in facilitating or promoting energy-efficient gait.