An Examination of Load Carrying Gait Kinematics in Healthy Individuals

Concerns have been expressed about how frequently people (including kids, men, and women) use backpacks. The goal of this study to examines the movement patterns and spinal alignment when carrying heavy backpack loads. One of the key focuses of the study is to evaluate the alignment of the spine during load carriage. Carrying heavy backpack loads can potentially affect spinal alignment due to the additional weight and its distribution on the body. Video recordings were made from a side perspective and used for the study. We looked at three distinct load weights: 4.1 kg, 6.8 kg, and 10.5 kg. The study discovered that while the angles at the ankle and knee remained constant, the hip’s initial and maximum flexion angles rose. The weight of the backpacks was balanced with respect to the centre of mass (COM) by bending the spine forward. As a result, important variations were mostly seen around the hip level and in the spine’s forward bending.