Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Masters Theses
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Masters Theses
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The Bent Hip and Bent Knee Gait and its Possible Role in the Evolution of Modern Human Bipedalism

Thumbnail
View / Download
800.3 Kb
Date
2010
Author
Wilson, Megan Pruette
Advisor
Schmitt, Daniel
Repository Usage Stats
1,770
views
1,307
downloads
Abstract

The relatively stiff gait of modern humans minimizes the muscular work done to move the lower limbs and the center of mass. Nonhuman primates, and perhaps our earliest ancestors, use a form of bipedalism in which the hip and knee are held in a flexed position. This thesis follows up on other studies examining loading and energetic costs of these compliant walking gaits by examining the effects of increased hip and knee flexion on kinetic, kinematic, and energy exchange variables. The bipedal gait of twelve human subjects using normal and bent hip and bent knee gait were compared. The subjects walked along force plates embedded in the ground while 3D kinematic data was simultaneously gathered. The data was then processed using EvaRT, Orthotrak, and Matlab to evaluate the variables used. During the bent hip and bent knee bipedal locomotion subjects demonstrated lower peak vertical and parallel ground reaction forces, much higher ankle flexion, less hip extension, and less energy recovery during a full stride. These data provide novel insight into the nature and costs of locomotion in bipedal primates and the earliest human ancestors.

Type
Master's thesis
Department
Evolutionary Anthropology
Subject
Biomechanics
bent hip and bent knee
bipedalism
energy exchange
human evolution
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3153
Citation
Wilson, Megan Pruette (2010). The Bent Hip and Bent Knee Gait and its Possible Role in the Evolution of Modern Human Bipedalism. Master's thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3153.
Collections
  • Masters Theses
More Info
Show full item record
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Rights for Collection: Masters Theses


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University