Kinematic and electromyographic analyses of gait of gait require the attachment of markers and skin electrodes on the subjects, making them time-consuming procedures. The evaluation of force-time curves from ground reaction forces allows for immediate visual inspection of trials and is a relatively simple method that obtains the magnitudes of these forces imposed on the human body during the gait cycle. Twenty-five children and thirty-three elderly women performed five walking trials each, at a self-selected pace, while wearing sports footwear, on a 6.0 m long by a 1.4 m wide walkway with 8 embedded force platforms. Elderly women walked slower than children, with longer stance phase duration, increased step rate, and shorter stride length. Future efforts should focus on validating these results with kinematic data and should consider including a group of young adults for comparison.

XII SIMPÓSIO DE ENGENHARIA BIOMÉDICA - IX SIMPÓSIO DE INSTRUMENTAÇÃO E IMAGENS MÉDICAS