The effects of walking speed and mobile phone use on the walking dynamics of young adults

Walking while using a mobile phone has been shown to affect the walking dynamics of young adults. However, this has only been investigated using treadmill walking at a fixed walking speed. In this study, the dynamics of over ground walking were investigated using lower trunk acceleration measured over 12 consecutive trials, following differing walking speed and mobile phone use instructions. Higher walking speed significantly increased the proportion of acceleration along the vertical measurement axis, while decreasing the proportion of acceleration along the anteroposterior axis (p<0.001). Moreover, higher walking speed also resulted in increased sample entropy along all measurement axes (p<0.05). When walking while texting, the maximum Lyapunov exponent increased along the anteroposterior and vertical measurement axes (p<0.05), while sample entropy decreased significantly along the vertical axis (p<0.001). Walking speed and mobile phone use both affect the walking dynamics of young adults. Walking while texting appears to produce a reduction in local dynamic stability and an increase in regularity, however, caution is required when interpreting the extent of this task effect, since walking speed also affected walking dynamics.

Automated summary

Using a mobile phone while walking affects the walking dynamics of young adults, especially when walking speed is increased and when texting. Higher walking speed increases vertical acceleration proportion and sample entropy, while texting increases Lyapunov exponent along the anteroposterior and vertical axes and decreases sample entropy along the vertical axis, indicating a reduction in local dynamic stability.