Cognitive tasks alter inter-joint coordination in older women during stair descent

Cognitive tasks alter inter-joint coordination in older women during stair descent | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Cognitive tasks alter inter-joint coordination in older women during stair descent Shuilong Zhang, Jingjing Cheng, Gang Ma, Jiangna Wang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5632966/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study evaluated the impact of cognitive task interference on the interaction and and coordination of lower limb joints in older women during stair descent. Kinematic data of the hip, knee, and ankle joints were collected using a Vicon infrared motion capture system during stair descent, both with and without cognitive task interference in twenty young and twenty older women. The continuous relative phase angles of the dominant hip-knee and knee-ankle joints were calculated for the support and swing phases. The older group exhibited significantly larger mean absolute relative phase (MARP) and deviation phase (DP) for the hip-knee joint, and DP for the knee-ankle joint during the support phase compared with the young group. Conversely, the older group showed significantly smaller MARP and DP for the hip-knee joint, the minimum value of the knee-ankle joint continuous relative phase (CRP), and MARP value during the swing phase. During cognitive tasks, the hip-knee joint MARP and DP during the support phase were significantly larger, while the minimum value of the knee-ankle joint CRP during the swing phase was significantly smaller. The study concluded that cognitive task interference diminishes inter-joint coordinated control during stair descent. The hip-knee joint's coupling and coordinated control were particularly affected in older women, both during the support and swing phases. It is recommended that older women enhance the inter-joint coupling and coordination of their lower limb joints by exercising to reduce the risk of falls during stair descent, particularly when cognitively distracted. Health sciences/Health care/Public health Health sciences/Health care/Quality of life cognitive task coordination stair descent motor control older individuals Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5632966","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":518281370,"identity":"45d4bb66-9686-4699-9202-d570a297357e","order_by":0,"name":"Shuilong Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lanzhou Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shuilong","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":518281372,"identity":"00857c02-d6b0-4046-97a7-640a3bd501ca","order_by":1,"name":"Jingjing Cheng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong Sports Training 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Kinematic data of the hip, knee, and ankle joints were collected using a Vicon infrared motion capture system during stair descent, both with and without cognitive task interference in twenty young and twenty older women. The continuous relative phase angles of the dominant hip-knee and knee-ankle joints were calculated for the support and swing phases. The older group exhibited significantly larger mean absolute relative phase (MARP) and deviation phase (DP) for the hip-knee joint, and DP for the knee-ankle joint during the support phase compared with the young group. Conversely, the older group showed significantly smaller MARP and DP for the hip-knee joint, the minimum value of the knee-ankle joint continuous relative phase (CRP), and MARP value during the swing phase. During cognitive tasks, the hip-knee joint MARP and DP during the support phase were significantly larger, while the minimum value of the knee-ankle joint CRP during the swing phase was significantly smaller. The study concluded that cognitive task interference diminishes inter-joint coordinated control during stair descent. The hip-knee joint's coupling and coordinated control were particularly affected in older women, both during the support and swing phases. 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